Ericsson and POST Luxembourg have expanded an existing partnership with a multi-year deal to deploy a 5G core and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) in Luxembourg.
Ericsson said that POST’s 5G network went live in this European country on October 16.
The Swedish vendor noted that this 5G deployment will support both Standalone 5G and Non-standalone 5G use.
The deal also includes the modernization of POST Luxembourg’s existing 2G, 3G, 4G network infrastructure.
Existing Ericsson network sites are being modernized by Ericsson and POST field professionals to enable the European carrier to deploy its 5G network without service interruptions.
As part of the partnership, the vendor will also deploy its cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core solution based on the Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure solution.
“We have a long-standing partnership with Ericsson for the supply of mobile networks. We aim at a smooth transition from 4G to 5G while benefiting from the latest available technologies in order to offer our customers the best 5G experience possible in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg,” said Claude Strasser, managing director at POST Luxembourg.
“POST selecting Ericsson as a partner to modernize its network and to introduce 5G demonstrates not only trust in Ericsson’s technology leadership but also in its capability to deliver important projects. We are extremely proud to support the market leader in Luxembourg to deliver 5G,” said Rémi de Montgolfier, country manager, Ericsson Belgium and Luxembourg.
Ericsson said that the 5G radio access network (RAN) deployment and 4G network modernization will comprise products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, including Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and Kathrein Mobile Communication antennas, as well as the Ericsson Cloud Native Infrastructure solution.
Ericsson currently has 113 commercial 5G agreements and contracts with unique communications service providers globally, of which 64 are announced 5G deals, including 65 live commercial 5G networks.
POST initially launched 5G services in Luxembourg City, using spectrum in the 700MHz band, with the aim of covering 90% of the territory by 2024, according to a recent report by local newspaper Luxembourg Times.
The telco upgraded existing infrastructure to launch 5G but will need to deploy new infrastructure in order to launch services using the 3.6GHz spectrum band.
By 2024, POST expects to have a minimum of 80 sites in place to provide 5G connectivity using spectrum in the 3.6GHZ band, according to the report.
POST, Orange, Proximus and Luxembourg Online had obtained spectrum for the provision of 5G in a government auction in July. These operators committed to pay 41 million euros ($48.5 million) for 15-year licenses.
POST secured 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band and 110 megahertz in the 3.6 GHz band.
