SmarTone Taps Ericsson to Deploy 5G Across Hong Kong

SmarTone has launched commercial 5G service across Hong Kong using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing technology as well as Ericsson’s 5G Core for more efficient operations.

SmarTone has launched its 5G service in Hong Kong, offering high-speed 5G connectivity and broad network coverage both indoors and outdoors.

SmarTone becomes the first mobile operator in Asia to deploy Ericsson Spectrum Sharing – a unique technology that enables both 4G and 5G to be deployed in the same band and on the same radio through a software upgrade – dynamically allocating spectrum based on user demand on a 1 millisecond basis.

The award-winning solution, which also allows for the efficient use of existing Ericsson Radio System infrastructure, is the most economically feasible way to deploy 5G on existing bands. It enables wide 5G coverage from day one – making more efficient use of spectrum and delivering superior user performance.

SmarTone adopts an integrated approach of combining high, mid and low spectrum bands to build a robust and industry-leading 5G network in Hong Kong. The 3.5GHz spectrum will be progressively deployed across the territory.

At popular places and busy locations, 3.5GHz can also provide ample capacity and support to the 5G applications that require high bandwidth. In the initial stage, SmarTone’s 5G network covers the most outdoor locations, popular indoor locations and major roads and highways for commuting customers.

In March of 2020, Ericsson and SmarTone, announced a five-year contract for the deployment of 5G in Hong Kong. Ericsson is the sole supplier of SmarTone’s 4G network and will continue as their sole 5G vendor – extending the companies’ 28 years of partnership.

The latest agreement also includes Ericsson’s Dual-Mode 5G Core, enabling SmarTone to quickly launch advanced services and run efficient operations through a cloud-native solution combining Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and 5G Core architectures. This will allow SmarTone to extract more business value out of its network.

With SmarTone’s launch, Ericsson now has 40 live 5G networks in 22 countries. Ericsson’s live networks are part of the 91 commercial 5G agreements or contracts the company has with unique operators globally, of which 48 are publicly-announced 5G deals.