Ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Ericsson has announced a broad refresh of its radio, transport and antenna portfolio, with 12 new hardware and software solutions that operators can use to create open, sustainable and high-performance networks.
The flagship product, which will also be among the innovations that Ericsson will present at the Mobile World Congress 2024, is AIR 3225, a Massive MIMO radio antenna time division duplex (TDD) offering energy savings of more than 25% and a quantity of 20% lower incorporated carbon dioxide* compared to the previous generation model.
The AIR 3255 is equipped with a new small metal filter technology, scalable to all sub-6GHz TDD frequency bands, and this will encourage the spread of 5G on medium band.
AIR 3225 is also the first radio solution to use the new generation of systems Massive MIMO Ericsson Silicon (System on a Chip) which offers better processing capacity at the receiver level and greater energy efficiency. Additionally, the AIR 3255 uses a PCB onlyrepresenting a unicum in the sector, both in terms of construction practices and in terms of passive cooling.
Mårten Lerner, Head of Product Area Networks di Ericssonhe has declared: “At Ericsson we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of technology: we create the best network products, in terms of performance, sustainability and openness, to maximize the innovation potential of 5G and beyond. The new solutions will boost the next phase of 5G deployment.”
All the news of the Ericsson offer
In addition to AIR 3255, other radio solutions are added to the offer which enrich the Ericsson proposal and make its radio portfolio ready for Open RAN (as regards packet fronthaul-based eCPRI) the most complete and sustainable in the sector, a supporting a clear company goal: to industrialize Open RAN.
To improve 5G performance
Ericsson 5G, la rete in South Korea
AIR 3284 (32T/32R), Triple-band FDD Massive MIMO Radio offering 2x more downlink and 4x more uplink capacity** compared to 4T/4R. 4823 (4T/8R) radio, which increases uplink performance (2x) with separate remote electrical tilt on the 2.6GHz frequency band to extend coverage or capacity based on your deployment choice. AIR 5343 for high-capacity, high-performance Fixed Wireless Access with macro implementation. Total carrier bandwidth up to 1600 MHz and extended coverage of 11 dB.
Ultralight TDD radios for the mid band
Radio 4461HP (high power) with 50% more power output and 42% less built-in carbon footprint and Radio 8873 in standard power and high power (HP) variants.
Software features
Uplink Multi-User Massive MIMO FDD with up to four uplink layers, based on an advanced receiver with complete interference rejection (IRC) to add capacity and speed.
Uplink-aware Advanced Multi-Layer Coordination – identifies the best set of cells for each user, taking into account UE capacity, network configuration, service requirements and downlink and uplink cell load.
Automated Energy Saver – il balance point between maximizing performance and energy efficiencyrun autonomously via operator-defined criteria to adjust radio resources and improve energy efficiency, while ensuring the best user experience.
To complete the new offering, Ericsson also presents next-generation transport and antenna solutions:
MINI-LINK 6355 – improved E-band performance with new generation all-outdoor E-band node. 2x output power and 25GE interfaces extend hop length and capacity in multi-carrier configurations. Added Radio Deep Sleep power saving feature for E band.
Antenna 4206 – two low band, four medium band; 2.1 m based on the new antenna structure. Latest high-performance Ericsson Antenna System solution with up to 85% beam efficiency and 49% savings on built-in carbon footprint and 24% lighter weight, thanks to the use of a 100% thermoplastic radome and a lighter and completely recyclable structure.
Operators’ comments
Luis Uribe, Corporate Network Manager of Entelhe has declared: “We are very pleased with Ericsson’s new generation of Massive MIMO AIR 3255 ultra-lightweight radios. This Massive MIMO radio fits very well with our sustainability policies and our energy efficiency and decarbonization strategy in the context of our network operation.”
Iskra Nikolova, Executive for Network and Infrastructure di Telstracommented: “In their long-standing partnership, Telstra and Ericsson have continuously improved network performance by achieving ever-increasing speed, capacity and coverage to offer customers a great 5G experience. The newly acquired additional midband spectrum, implemented with wideband Massive MIMO TDD, provides significant downlink capacity. However, it relies on a strong FDD uplink to address traffic growth and improve the consumer experience as it moves within the cell. The innovations brought by Massive MIMO FDD with AIR 3284 and Radio 4823 bring out the best of our mid-band Massive MIMO TDD. We look forward to seeing new radios in our network as we continue to improve the network experience for our customers“.
Mark Düsener, Head of Mobile Network, Mobile Products and B2B Telco Swisscomhe said: “Sustainability and user experience are fundamental objectives for us. With the Automated Energy Saver feature, we have the unique opportunity to monitor and manage user experience while ensuring we can increase energy savings with less operational complexity through advanced automation.”
Tomohiro Sekiwa, Senior Vice President & CNO, SoftBank Corp. states: “Ensuring the best 5G experience for our customers is the cornerstone of the historic collaboration with Ericsson. With Uplink-aware Advanced Multi-layer Coordination, we are taking the next evolutionary step on the path to advanced 5G Standalone traffic management. This involves loading the cells in both the downlink and uplink to choose the best set of cells for each user and achieve maximum network performance. This software innovation responds to new user behaviors, where uplink speed is becoming increasingly crucial for everyday use cases, such as photo and video uploading, video interactions, and AR and VR applications. The new features offer all these benefits, optimizing the use of spectrum and satisfying our customers.”
Rémy Pascal, Senior Research Manager Mobile infrastructure, Omdiahe claims: “High performance and sustainability are strongly associated with Ericsson, and the products announced today help strengthen the company’s strong reputation in these areas and support operators’ evolution towards 5G Advanced. Furthermore, the recent announcement with AT&T lends greater credibility to Ericsson’s commitment to an open approach. Lastly, automation is the fourth pillar that completes the holistic goal of this launch.”