China Mobile said it will use the Ericsson device connectivity platform to streamline its process for provisioning “internet of things” devices as well as for deploying services to capitalize on new opportunities. The world’s largest mobile operator by subscribers signed a strategic agreement with Ericsson at its global partner conference in Guangzhou, China.
“China Mobile expects to have 200 million IoT connections by 2017,” said Yuejia Sha, the company’s EVP. “We stick to the strategy of open cooperation with our partners for win-win results. China Mobile strengthens the collaboration with global leading enterprises of advanced platform, application and intelligent hardware to drive the rapid development of our industry.”
Launched in 2008, Ericsson’s device connectivity platform is said to be used by more than 24 global operators and supports more than 1,700 enterprise customers. The platform has its own mobile core network, which is shared by all operators who are part of the system, meaning enterprise customers can use a single interface for multiple mobile operator networks.
Ericsson promotes its platform to operators as a way to add IoT and managed connectivity without financial risk. The platform is offered to operators through a revenue sharing model, while allowing the operator to handle business development and customer relations, while Ericsson takes care of development, operations and administration, as well as rates for global coverage.
“We are very proud to be selected by China Mobile as a strategic partner for [the] ‘internet of things,'” said Chris Houghton, head of the North East Asia region for Ericsson. “These types of applications will also help promote the development and deployment of 5G technology.”
China Mobile wants to roll out almost 10,000 “5G” base stations by 2020, according to Chinese press reports. For Ericsson, this could be an even bigger near-term opportunity than IoT, but the Swedish company faces competition from base station vendors Huawei and ZTE, both of which are Chinese companies.
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