Tests to run on an Ericsson-built 5G SA network secured by Samsung
Ericsson, Samsung and Vodafone Spain jointly opened a new Vodafone 5G Lab this week. The Madrid facility aims to entice 200 developers and software companies to construct use cases for the low latency, adaptable mobile network technology for businesses and consumers.
The Vodafone 5G Lab will be powered by a private 5G Core offering from Ericsson which will run independently from the existing mobile operator’s 4G network on the premises. As well as guaranteeing performance and the security of intellectual property it will house events, roadshows and workshops. Vodafone Spain and Ericsson had revealed plans for a trial of a standalone (SA) 5G core in July.
Design solutions with Intelligence
The rationale is to discover the challenges faced by small companies and start-ups and to solve their business problems. With their permission the best of these prototypes can then be shared online.
The Vodafone-Samsung-Ericsson will create a 5G ecosystem that could nurture new usez for artificial intelligence, machine learning, mobile edge computing and Big Data. The target industries were named as education, health, transport, energy, industry, smart cities, tourism, agriculture, security, defence, entertainment and the digital economy. “It is a very important step in our strategy to pioneer and benchmark the use of 5G networks and services in Spain,” said Marta de Pablos, 5G marketing director at Vodafone Spain.
“Samsung offers a unique product ecosystem in the mobility area and a differential security standard,” said Daniel Molero, director of mobility sales at Samsung Electronics Iberia.
Vodafone reigns in Spain says study
Vodafone was the first operator in Spain to launch a commercial 5G network in June 2019. Umlaut named Vodafone Spain as the best overall operator in the Umlaut Connect Mobile Benchmark Spain 2020. The operator claims that its 5G network is fastest thanks to its contiguous 5G spectrum. It’s available in 25 Spanish cities offering coverage to half of the population in each of them, with download speeds of up to 1Gbps and with a latency of less than 10 milliseconds – under ideal conditions.