Ericsson, Chinese Academy of ICT join forces in 5G development

Ericsson and Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch joint research and development of 5G, the next generation of mobile technologies.

While the industry explores the possibilities of 5G and its underlying technologies and architecture, there is a need to drive broader cooperation among different stakeholders around the world in order for standardization and industrialization to be achieved.

CAICT, the leading national ICT think tank in China, has been a pioneer of 3G and 4G standards. With the cooperation, Ericsson aims to join hands with CAICT to speed up the research and standardization of 5G technologies towards its commercialization around 2020.

Cao Shumin, President of CAICT, says: "CAICT is as committed as Ericsson to the international standardization of technologies through cooperation. We believe this is essential for achieving global economies of scale and fostering innovation. China, with a fledging ICT industry infrastructure and the world's largest number of mobile subscriptions, will continue to be a vigorous driver of ICT innovation and sustainable growth."

Ulf Ewaldsson, Senior Vice President and CTO of Ericsson, says: "We are very excited to be embarking on this new journey with CAICT towards the development of global 5G standards. Ericsson and CAICT have a long history of successful cooperation and we share the belief that mobile broadband technology benefits society by lifting productivity and the quality of life, and thereby contributing to sustainable development for all."

Ericsson and CAICT have pledged mutual cooperation and support in promoting 5G standardization, and agreed to mutual cooperation in 5G technology research covering key areas such as radio access technology, core network architecture and 5G application scenarios. The two have also agreed to share information in the areas of convergence in vertical industries, industry transformation, applications, and eco-system development.