In sum – what you need to know:
Advanced enterprise WAN – Ericsson’s new ‘wireless-first’ SD-WAN architecture bundles Release 17-level 5G, Wi-Fi 6/7, and LEO satellite support into a centrally-managed solution for enterprises.
Cusiness-critical AI apps – the bundle is designed for resilient, scalable, secure operations across distributed sites, with features like network slicing, SASE, and integrated LAN/WAN orchestration.
Future-proof and centralized – forecasts say 90% of enterprises have plans already (by 2026) to embed gen AI; Ericsson says its architecture delivers high-end networks, slices, devices, SIMs, and security in support.
Ericsson has introduced a new “wireless-first” architecture for enterprises to provision and control high-end 5G and Wi-Fi networks and devices across distributed premises. It is geared to support new “business-critical AI-powered” enterprise operations, it said. It bundles software-defined wide-area (SD-WAN) 5G and Wi-Fi network services, supporting the newest 5G-release (17) and Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, with new local-area (LAN) switches and componentry, and a centralised secure access service edge (SASE) framework and network management platform.
A statement crowed: “From virtual experts in insurance offices to computer vision applications in remote healthcare clinics, distributed sites increasingly rely on always-on connectivity to support business-critical operations and deliver modern customer experiences.” It went on to quote forecasts from IDC that 90 percent of enterprises will integrate generative AI into their “connectivity strategy” by next year (2026), and will require “secure, scalable, and easily managed” networks to deliver on such AI strategies.
Support for Release-17 level 5G in its new WAN bundle foreshadows the kinds of capabilities that will be delivered in more serious fashion with 5G Advanced, set out in Release 18. Notably, it will make a virtue, already, of “predictable” rather than “best effort” performance for business-critical applications, available with network slicing and slice management in Release 17. The solution hinges on Ericsson’s Cradlepoint E400 router, billed as the first enterprise appliance to triple-stack its WAN support with 17-level 5G, Wi-Fi 6 (rising to 7), and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks.
It also supports eSIM and dual-SIM technology. As well, and as with Ericsson’s total enterprise wireless proposition, it is making its NetCloud Manager platform, inherited and enhanced from Cradlepoint, the centralised orchestration tool for all enterprise carriers, networks, slices, devices, SIMs, and security options. It said NetCloud “augment[s] LAN solutions from existing technical alliance partner solutions”. It went on: “LAN switches and Wi-Fi 6 access points seamlessly extend small and medium office LAN capacity without complexity under unified management.”
It added: “SD-WAN, link bonding and SASE optimize traffic across wired, cellular, and satellite links; network slicing delivers isolated, secure 5G slices with use-case specific parameters for business-critical applications… To fully unlock AI’s potential, lean IT teams must be able to deliver modernised branch operations that support AI apps with scalable, secure, and resilient wireless connectivity. Ericsson’s wireless-first architecture… gives IT teams and carriers the flexibility, performance, and security to deploy and manage AI-ready connectivity across distributed branch sites.”
Pankaj Malhotra, head of enterprise networking and security in the firm’s enterprise wireless solutions business, said: “With the increased speed and decreased latency of 5G, businesses are now looking at 5G as not only a viable alternative to wires but also to innovate and transform their business. At Ericsson, we are removing the complexities of LAN architecture, security, cellular management, and multi-WAN optimization with an integrated architecture under a single management platform.”
