Optus picks Ericsson to further improve 5G experience

Optus, together with Ericsson has completed a world-first pilot in a live network using Ericsson’s groundbreaking Interference Sensing technology, designed to improve network performance and deliver a better data experience for customers by dynamically sensing and mitigating inter cell interference in real time.

Interference Sensing technology, a novel commercial-grade software feature within Ericsson’s Massive MIMO 5G Advanced portfolio, uses Ericsson’s unique algorithm to dynamically sense and reduce inter cell interference, resulting in an increase in user throughput and network capacity.

Through Ericsson’s state-of-the-art beamforming, the signal energy is maximised for the serving cell users while avoiding interference with neighbouring cell users, improving overall network capacity.

An average increase in user throughput of 22% was achieved during pilot testing, across multiple users and cells in a commercial network deployment, with the Interference Sensing functionality enabled.

The award-winning solution from Ericsson aims to transform the operation of networks, improving performance levels and delivering an exceptional user experience.

The deployment of Ericsson’s Interference Sensing technology marks a major milestone for the telecommunications sector, and it lays the foundation for Ericsson’s 5G Advanced performance capabilities. As 5G traffic load continues to increase, this technology addresses the increased inter cell interference and unlocks the full potential of 5G networks ensuring seamless connectivity, rapid download speeds and an exceptional mobile experience for users.

The pilot in Optus’ live network showcased how Interference Sensing can make a difference in real-world situations by addressing the inter cell interference issues as the 5G networks densify and therefore providing reliable and unrivalled connectivity. Through this approach, Ericsson is leading the path towards a future where mobile networks are more effective, reliable, and able to meet the growing need for wireless data applications and services.

Kent Wu, Optus Vice President Access Network Strategy, Planning and Quality, said: “We are excited at Optus to be involved in another world-first demonstration using Ericsson’s cutting-edge technology to improve our network performance and customer experience. This technology will deliver a better data experience for customers, with faster data throughput. It will also allow for the implementation of new and improved use cases for video streaming, enterprise and consumer mobile cloud gaming services, stadium 5G service applications and AR/VR.”

Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line Cloud & Purpose-built 5G RAN, Ericsson Networks, says: “The successful pilot deployment of Ericsson’s Interference Sensing marks another milestone for the telecoms sector as we push onwards with innovations that will truly unlock the full potential of 5G. Interference Sensing provides up to 40 percent capacity gain on existing Massive MIMO hardware with only a software upgrade – an achievement that has earned industry recognition. It has been an immense opportunity to collaborate with Optus for this first demonstration of our technology on their network. This technology will enable Optus to unlock new capacity and speed capabilities, opening the door to exciting use cases for consumers and enterprises in the 5G Advanced era.”