Ericsson, Play Extend Partnership in the Field of 5G RAN

Ericsson and P4, operator of the Play brand in Poland, a subsidiary of the Iliad Group, have signed a new agreement to extend their partnership to 5G in the field of radio access networks (RAN) in Poland.

The agreement, which is the first RAN contract signed between Ericsson and Play since the acquisition of Play by the Iliad group last year, includes the modernization of radio sites nationwide, as well as the implementation of the 5G technologies of the product portfolio Ericsson Radio System (ERS) which is the market leader.

Thanks to this agreement, Play customers will benefit from innovative 5G applications and services, as well as a significantly improved mobile broadband service. Play continually strives to adapt its network to the latest generations of radio equipment, and ensures that all of its base stations are equipped with all of its frequency bands. The quality and performance of Play's radio network is further improved with the introduction of 4x4 MIMO solutions. This agreement also enables Play to increase the share of Ericsson equipment within its radio network, and thus ensures the diversification of its suppliers.

As foreseen in the agreement, Ericsson will deploy its radio technologies produced in Poland such as the latest generation Massive MIMO active antennas guaranteeing optimal 5G performance at the same time as a very small footprint and low power consumption. The agreement further includes the launch of cutting-edge radio software features, such as Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, uplink booster, as well as 5G band aggregation that will allow Play customers to benefit from very high performance. throughput across the entire network. Ericsson Radio System solutions are designed to adapt to all types of sites and all traffic scenarios, regardless of the size and complexity of the networks due to the successive changes from 2G to 3G, then to 4G and 5G.

Ericsson and P4 already share a long history of co-innovation, as they cooperated to achieve one of the first deployments of Ericsson Spectrum Sharing worldwide. This collaboration is now being reinforced by a local partnership with the Ericsson R&D center in Poland, which has more than 1,700 radio experts, which allows Play to benefit from a faster time-to-market of new features and new radio services.

“The development of networks and investment in new technologies is a major priority for Play, insofar as they guarantee a better comfort of use of the services for our customers. I am delighted that we are partnering with Ericsson to deliver the most innovative network solutions on the market. »Said Jean-Marc Harion, CEO of P4.

“Ericsson Poland is delighted to strengthen its partnership with P4 and offer it the most advanced technologies to modernize its network. Ericsson invests a lot in Poland, in particular in R&D for the development of mobile software, but also in the production of 5G solutions. I am therefore proud that our Made in Poland products are being deployed by P4 and benefiting its Polish customers ”said Martin Mellor, Director of Ericsson Poland.