Ericsson China President Zhao Juntao: 5G economy has not yet arrived

On September 28, Ericsson held its autumn media conference in Beijing during the China International Information and Communication Expo. Ericsson showcased its recently released mid-band mini-AAU product weighing only 12 kg, as well as the latest progress and practice in 5G applications, and simultaneously released Ericsson's "new mission" and "new vision" to the world.

During the meeting, Ericsson also exchanged views with participants on topics such as the current status of 5G economic development and the improvement of the industrial ecosystem, responding to the "5G Application Sailing Plan" to accelerate consumer and enterprise-level 5G application innovation, and promoting sustainable development.

In an interview with Jiwei.com, Ericsson China President Zhao Juntao said that 5G commercial deployment is still in the early stage of large-scale commercial deployment, and the 5G economy has not really arrived yet, and is in the "road construction" stage. At the same time, he emphasized that "in China for China, Ericsson's commitment to the Chinese market will not change."

Deeply cultivate the 5G toB market and become an enabler of China's digital economy

Today, 5G global deployment is advancing in depth. According to GSMA data, as of the end of August, there are already 176 5G commercial networks in the world, with more than 900 commercial terminals. China is the world's most advanced 5G market, with a total of more than 1 million 5G base stations in operation.

In Zhao Juntao's view, although 5G commercial deployment continues to accelerate globally, China's 5G commercialization process started earlier and the layout was faster, but from a global perspective, 5G commercial deployment is still in the early stage of large-scale commercial deployment, and the 5G economy has not really arrived.

Zhao Juntao explained the reason for his judgment. First, judging from the current situation in South Korea and China, the applications that drive 5G traffic are mainly videos, including short videos and live broadcasts. This has indeed promoted the development of 5G, but 5G is not the starting point of video traffic. Video applications have started since 4G, but the video consumer experience under 5G will be better. Second, the key factor in measuring the changes brought about by 5G is that the operator's operating model has not changed fundamentally.

"In the 3G era, the rates were charged based on time, and in the 4G era, the rates were charged based on traffic volume. It is still unclear what the 5G era will be like. We are still in a period of large-scale network construction where we need to build roads first to get rich," said Zhao Juntao.

Zhao Juntao believes that the true arrival of the 5G era has two iconic factors. One is the rich terminal device forms, from mobile phones to various terminals, especially in the To B field, and the other is 5G applications, which will give rise to revolutionary changes. However, 5G still lacks killer applications and is difficult to predict. Therefore, the 5G economy has not yet been launched on a large scale.

Zhao Juntao believes that the current popularity and scale of 5G are still concentrated in the To C field, and there are more trials in the To B field, but in the long run, 5G has greater potential in the industry field. The automobile and transportation industry, ports, mines, and manufacturing (factories) are important areas for Ericsson to focus on.

At the meeting, Zhao Juntao shared the latest cases of Ericsson in helping "leading enterprises" in vertical industries to use 5G to promote digital transformation, such as: Ericsson and Guangxi Mobile helped Beihai Jingyi, a "little giant" of electric poles, build Guangxi's first "5G+Smart Factory" in the electric pole industry; Ericsson built a "5G+Smart Factory-AI Ceramic Quality Inspection System" for Hunan Yinhe Ceramics, etc. In addition, Ericsson is also building a 5G private network for Bohai Piston, building a fully connected wireless network, laying the foundation for industrial 4.0 enterprise connection, promoting the construction of smart factories, promoting enterprise intelligent transformation from multiple links, and enhancing the core competitiveness of enterprises.

Zhao Juntao emphasized that industrial digitalization is a major direction for building a digital economy, and manufacturing is the top priority in industrial digitalization. Ericsson will deepen its efforts in the 5G ToB field, become an enabler of China's digital economy, a promoter of 5G technology innovation, and a co-builder of sustainable development.

In response to Ericsson's current decline in market share in China due to geopolitical influences, Zhao Juntao once again emphasized the importance of the Chinese market.

"Whether it is large-scale commercial use in the To B field, network deployment speed, or ecology, China is leading the world. China will become the center of 5G innovation, which is why Ericsson attaches importance to the Chinese market. There will always be fluctuations in business development, and there are also factors that are beyond the control of the enterprise. In China, we need to do our job well, ensure the best products, build the best network with operator partners, and keep our commitment to China." said Zhao Juntao.

Black technology "slims down" 12kg industry's lightest AAU debuts

Recently, following the launch of the 19kg, 64-channel Massive MIMO AAU 4.0 product, Ericsson has launched another revolutionary product - the mid-band mini-AAU product weighing only 12kg - AIR 3268. At the conference, Ericsson also showed the real product to Chinese media such as Jiwei.com for the first time, which is very light.

AIR 3268 weighs 12 kg, has a volume of 23 liters, has 32 channels, a total carrier bandwidth of 200 MHz, and an output power of 200 W. It is currently the lightest and smallest Massive MIMO product in the industry.

As domestic 5G infrastructure construction gradually deepens and operators face increasingly complex deployment environments, AIR 3268 has the advantages of low power consumption, high performance, light weight, small size, and passive heat dissipation, which enables it to have strong performance, stable performance, green energy saving, convenient deployment, and easy maintenance, providing more options for operators' mid-band 5G network construction.

Compared with the previous generation of products, AIR 3268 has successfully "slimmed down" by using black technology, reducing its weight by about 40% to 12 kg, giving it super athletic ability and making it easy to climb poles, towers, walls, and rooftops. With a compact size of only 23 liters, AIR 3268 can easily achieve zero-increase poles and minimize site wind loads even in challenging locations, reducing deployment costs while providing a convenient and feasible solution for adding mid-band Massive MIMO devices to sites.

AIR 3268 belongs to the mid-band Massive-MIMO product series. Like Ericsson's other Massive MIMO products, it is also designed based on the Ericsson Silicon Core Technology platform, which can provide real-time channel estimation and ultra-precise beamforming to improve coverage and user experience, providing leading network performance.

AIR 3268 reduces power consumption by about 10%, while supporting Ericsson's unique Massive MIMO architecture and Uplink Booster function, once again setting a new industry benchmark for 5G wireless products. It uses the industry's most reliable passive cooling system, which maximizes the product's service life and reduces operators' maintenance costs.

At present, 5G construction is accelerating around the world. According to GSA statistics, as of mid-August this year, there are 176 5G commercial networks in the world. Among them, China has built the world's largest 5G network. As of August this year, the cumulative number of 5G base stations built in my country has exceeded one million, covering all prefecture-level cities in the country, as well as more than 95% of county towns and 35% of townships and towns. 5G network construction has entered a new stage of intensive cultivation.

Wu Riping, Director of Ericsson Northeast Asia Network Product Line, said that providing high performance, high stability, high reliability and instant response 5G experience at any time and any place will become one of the key factors for operators to establish differentiated advantages. The Ericsson AIR 3268 released this time can be flexibly and efficiently deployed on demand in multiple application scenarios such as dense cities and suburbs, making it easier for operators to expand 5G coverage and capacity, thereby providing users with faster 5G speeds.

New mission and vision: China market commitment remains unchanged

Ericsson recently released its new mission and vision: Building connections to make unlimited imaginations possible. At the meeting, Wu Lidong, Vice President of Ericsson Northeast Asia, explained Ericsson's new mission and vision.

Wu Lidong said that today, the external world is undergoing rapid changes. In such an era of opportunities and challenges, Ericsson has been thinking about what its mission is and what value it can bring to customers, the industry and the Chinese market.

In Ericsson's view, social geography, politics and technology are becoming the main forces shaping the future. Climate challenges, post-epidemic society, redefining trust, socio-economic changes and global fragmentation, as well as technologies such as artificial intelligence, mirror world and the Internet of Everything are driving the development of the entire society.

On this basis, Ericsson proposed a new mission and vision.

Wu Lidong said that building connections is the core value of Ericsson. Ericsson gave itself a mission when it was first established: all people have the right to communicate equally. Now the Internet is no longer just about communication between people, but an era of interconnection of all things. Therefore, the role that Ericsson can take on is even more important.