MWC 2016: Ericsson and Cisco build 5G router in ‘fruitful’ partnership

Cisco and Ericsson are working with Intel on a 5G router for consumers and businesses and say they are pleased with how their strategic partnership has progressed so far.

Last November, Cisco and Ericsson agreed to resell each other’s products and work together on new network technologies for service providers and enterprises related to 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The two companies said the early stages of the partnership had seen “significant progress in all areas,” with 200 customer engagements and major customer wins.

The first product of the partnership is Ericsson Dynamic Service Manager, a unified network management platform capable of configuring, monitoring and optimising network resources from multiple vendors and multiple domains, including for mobile backhaul, IP core and enterprise VPNs.

“Our complementary portfolios and intense customer focus make me more convinced than ever that Cisco and Ericsson’s unique partnership will drive even greater growth for our customers and faster innovation for the industry,” added Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins.

“I’m excited about the feedback from the customers and from the sales force when we present our joint capabilities,” said Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.

“It is clear that our two companies approach this partnership with the same commitment and will to execute. With rising network complexity and performance requirements the strategic partnership offers a clear value to our customers.”

Vestberg added that technologies like 5G, IoT and cloud would affect every industry in 2016 and that the complex IT environment would mean more partnerships, like the one with Cisco, would be necessary as no single company is capable of harnessing all of the opportunities.

Ericsson is working with AT&T to bring its Digital Life home security and automation platform to operators outside the US and has achieved 10Gbps 5G speeds in tests with Verizon using beam forming, which uses high frequencies to increase reach and reduce energy consumption, and beam tracking prototypes, which dynamically move beams for an optimum signal.

“With the pace of change faster than ever, strong and long-term strategic partnerships are a necessity to drive growth, accelerate innovation and speed the digital transformation demanded by customers and consumers across all industries,” added Vestberg.

Cisco, whose chief strategy officer Hilton Romanski joined Vestberg on stage at MWC, has also been busy. Following on from its own Cisco Live event in Berlin last week, the company has detailed ‘Cisco Ultra’, a virtualised platform that allows operators to rollout new mobile services more rapidly and manage virtual and physical network resources in one place. It is already being used by Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom.