Ericsson and Vodafone go live with 5G services in Ireland

Ericsson and Vodafone Ireland have launched the first commercial 5G network in Ireland. Live across locations in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Galway and Waterford, the partners will continue expanding their network throughout the country over the coming months.

At the launch in Cork on 13 August, Ericsson presented their Mixed Reality (Urban Planning VR) Demo. It was also the launch of the Vodafone Global Center of Internet of Things excellence in healthcare in partnership with Assert.

Using Baseband 6630 and AIR 6488 products from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, Vodafone Ireland has activated the network over their recently acquired 5G spectrum. This deployment marks one of many for Ericsson, who have 5G activations all over the world.

At the launch, John Griffin, Managing Director of Ericsson Ireland said: “We work closely with our customers to be at the forefront of technology and we were the first to support the launch every generation of mobile technology in Ireland. We are therefore proud to support the first 5G launch, too.

“Ericsson has been investing in Ireland for 60 years. Our Research and Development centre in Athlone is still one of the biggest in the country, where they’re currently developing key components of 5G networks and firmly putting Ireland on the map of 5G innovation.

“By providing solutions for almost two-thirds of all commercially launched 5G networks spanning across 4 continents, Ericsson is leading the way for the next generation of connectivity.”

With the Ericsson Consumer Lab report highlighting that consumers in Ireland expected 5G in 2021, this launch puts Vodafone and Ericsson ahead of local expectations.

Speaking at the launch event, Anne O’Leary, CEO of Vodafone Ireland, said: “5G is set to revolutionize how we use and adopt technology and will have a huge impact on businesses and society in Ireland. It will bring high speed, ultra-low latency and highly secure connectivity to a massive amount of devices; and is a technology that will unlock a vast array of new use cases through Vodafone’s next-generation network.”