Ericsson: The future of technology is all about collaborations

Denis Brunetti - President, Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos

As the world enters a new age for electronics powered by 5G and eventually 6G, Ericsson is collaborating with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on two research projects that seek to help build a new network infrastructure needed to empower the truly revolutionary use cases the next generation of mobile networks will bring. The new mobile network generations bring ultra-fast speed, low latency, and superb reliability to the end user.

Ericsson is working to research cognitive networks, which rely on AI to enable secure, highly automised, data-driven network operation. To improve the compute power, speed, and energy efficiency of cognitive networks, Ericsson Research and the MIT Materials Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE) are collaborating to research new designs in lithionic chips to enable exponentially more energy-efficient AI processing. This could enable fully cognitive networks with reduced operation complexity and energy consumption compared to today.

In addition to research on lithionics, Ericsson and the MIT RLE are collaborating on the research of mobile networks that connect trillions of sensors and other “zero-energy” devices. By combining Ericsson’s expertise in mobile technology with MIT’s knowledge base, Ericsson aims to develop hardware that will power exciting new AI applications on the edge and take significant strides in the next generation of mobile networks.

In another example of partnership to boost 5G innovation in agribusiness, Ericsson is partnering with John Deere to focus on IoT-related technologies to address agriculture sector issues. Ericsson and John Deere research and development and innovation centres will apply IoT mobile ecosystem technologies such as narrowband IoT (NB-loT) and Cat-M1 to drive agribusiness solutions based on Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards.

The proofs of concept will initially be jointly developed at John Deere’s Central Office for Latin America in Sao Paulo and its Center of Agriculture, Precision and Innovation in Campinas, where 5G equipment will be installed. The agreement includes equipping John Deere’s factories with 5G equipment to contribute to the journey of digital transformation and immersion in 5.0 agriculture.

5G will bring greater efficiency in the use of spectrum and lower energy consumption in comparison with 3G and 4G. According to the Ericsson 5G Business Potential study, the agriculture sector has the potential to make $9.6 billion by 2030, with $1.9 billion in additional earnings boosted by 5G. With this partnership, the two sides are looking to democratise the use of connectivity in rural areas and provide cost-free solutions for the farmer, who from now on will produce in an increasingly efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.

Recently, Google Cloud and Ericsson have announced a partnership to jointly develop 5G and edge cloud solutions to help communications service providers digitally transform and unlock new enterprise and consumer use cases.

Globally, industries with edge presences – including communication service providers, retailers, manufacturers, transport businesses, as well as healthcare and media/entertainment providers – face pressures to build more digitised businesses and new digital experiences for their customers.

To help businesses address this shift, Google Cloud and Ericsson are working together to develop new solutions at Ericsson’s Silicon Valley D-15 Labs, a state-of-the-art innovation centre where advanced solutions and technologies can be developed and tested on a live, multi-layer 5G platform.

As part of this growing partnership, Google Cloud and Ericsson are also piloting enterprise applications at the edge on a live network with TIM. The project, which will automate the functions of TIM’s core 5G network and cloud-based applications, will use TIM’s Telco Cloud infrastructure, Google Cloud solutions, and also Ericsson’s 5G core networking and orchestration technologies.

The joint offerings will help enterprises in the automotive, transportation, manufacturing, and other sectors to improve efficiencies and lower latency by bringing connectivity close to companies’ physical locations.

5G is a powerful innovation platform. Combined with edge cloud capabilities, 5G has the potential to accelerate the digital transformation of virtually any sector, industry, or society. Creating the best possible solutions for communication service providers and their customers requires collaboration with relevant players and alliances in the industry so that stakeholders can innovate together at a global scale. Over the years Ericsson has been sharing its technology innovations and working together with partners as the most effective way to create a healthy ecosystem.