How Ericsson is connecting frontline hospitals in China

As the coronavirus began to spread in early 2020, Ericsson teams in China were on the ground supporting with mission-critical communications infrastructure and services to bolster medical services for impacted communities.

The Hubei and Zhejiang Provinces of China were some of the first . In the early part of 2020, local Ericsson teams moved swiftly into action to deliver mission-critical communications infrastructure to where it was needed most – the country’s permanent and makeshift hospitals.

Four base stations in two days

One night in late January, Ericsson teams in China were assigned an urgent task: to support China Mobile Wuhan and China Unicom Wuhan in launching four mission-critical base stations for the Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital.

Work began immediately with the Ericsson team launching two task forces comprising of 18 engineers and technicians to help build out the communications system for the hospital. All hardware systems for all four base stations were installed and live within two days.

In the days to come, communications services were established at three additional hospitals including the Ezhou Third Hospital, Qianjiang New Maternal and Child Health Hospital and the Xiaogan Xiaonan Disease Control Center.

5G coverage for critical facilities in the Zhejiang Province

In the following month, the Zhejiang Mobile Provincial Group began work on 5 new hospitals to serve as fixed-point diagnosis and treatment institutions for patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Ericsson teams were tasked with establishing high-speed, 5G mobile connectivity to support the hospital’s critical mission.

Network teams in Wuhan

The local Ericsson team coordinated with various onsite project groups and dispatched personnel equipped with masks, integrated protective clothing, goggles, rubber gloves, disinfectant alcohol and other anti-epidemic materials, to formulate a comprehensive emergency response plan, and review and complete the project team members’ epidemic prevention in advance.

Once the installations were completed, the network infrastructure became a critical enabler of services such as telemedicine, teleconferencing and other information-based methods.

These cases highlight how mobile networks are an essential part of the communications backbone that enables health workers, public safety officials and critical businesses to stay connected during this global crisis.

Ericsson continues to closely monitor the development around the coronavirus and is following recommendations from relevant national authorities and international bodies. We are taking precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of employees, to minimize the impact on the company’s operations and to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.