Ericsson is outsourcing the manufacture of its 5G mobile hotspot routers in order to speed up the rate of commercial trials by the end of this year.
The Swedish vendor is working Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC), a Taiwanese manufacturer, on delivering the devices. The routers boast the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 modem and will be used in mid-band 5GNR trials and demonstrations.
The vendor said the devices will help enable network performance testing and real-life use cases of 5G. It added that the devices also have a commercial form factor that could be used in telcos’ 5G implementation.
Thomas Noren, Head of 5G Commercialisation, Ericsson said: “Having access to 5G devices is crucial for customer trials and interoperability tests.
“Together with WNC and Qualcomm, Ericsson continues to drive 5G commercial readiness for service providers by significantly improving the testing of 5G NR networks, and facilitating the testing and commercial launch of 5G services in the early phase of 5G introduction.”
Fayu Chen, SVP and GM of WNC’s AIS Business Group, added: “5G is going to be a global game changer for all industries and consumers. Early access to devices will drive testing across markets and use cases. It will also provide feedback on device portfolio requirements for years to come.
“The collaboration of 5G leaders such as Qualcomm, Ericsson and WNC will define the parameters for new devices over the coming years at a global level.”
Like its vendor rivals, Ericsson has been working on a wealth of different 5G trials and demonstrations, most recently with TIM, Qualcomm, Telia Company and Beeline.