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Tag: Ericsson

  • Chelsea to Connect Fans to Free Wifi at Stamford Bridge

    Chelsea to Connect Fans to Free Wifi at Stamford Bridge

    Ericsson has been unveiled as the internet connectivity partner for Stamford Bridge – Chelsea Football Club’s home stadium in Fulham, London.

    Free Wi-Fi coverage will be provided via the Small Cell as a Service connected venue business model whereby Ericsson designs, builds and operates the network on the customer’s behalf.

    As a result, Chelsea FC will be able to provide fans throughout the stadium with a richer experience that enables them to interact digitally with each other, the club, friends and family.

    In winning their fifth Premier League title in 2016/2017, Chelsea FC sold out every home match day at Stamford Bridge.

    Many fans used their smartphones to share photos and videos via social media, often stretching cellular networks to the limit. To ensure visitors can enjoy a seamless digital experience, Ericsson will design, build and operate a carrier-grade Wi-Fi access network and then manage it on Chelsea FC’s behalf.

    Chris Townsend, Chelsea FC commercial director, says: “We look forward to a rich partnership with Ericsson which will directly assist the thousands of fans who come regularly to Stamford Bridge. Ericsson leads the way in providing innovative digital solutions and we welcome them to the Chelsea family.”

    Arun Bansal, senior vice president, Europe & Latin America, Ericsson, says: “Our research indicates that people want to use their digital devices wherever they go – and the urge to connect is even greater at a Chelsea FC home game. Through this partnership, we will ensure the connectivity at Stamford Bridge matches the quality of the football and look forward to exploring further options that will enable Chelsea FC to take the digital experience to the next level.”

    Small Cell as a Service supports service providers’ cellular go-to-market models, enables businesses to monetize Wi-Fi, provides a business case for network build-out and improves end-user experience. In 2015, Legia Warsaw became the first football club in Europe to sign a Small Cell as a Service contract with Ericsson. In 2016, Ericsson became the connectivity partner for the Ricoh Arena stadium in Coventry, England, home to Aviva Premiership rugby team Wasps and Wasps Netball.

    Through four weeks of football mania in Brazil in 2014, the Nordic World Ski Championships in Sweden in 2015, the 2016 European football tournament in France, and the 2016 summer sports event in Rio, Ericsson ensured the networks kept pace with the fans. Click here to read how we connect the most popular venues around the world.

  • Airtel, Ericsson launch Nuvu

    Airtel Nigeria and Ericsson, a world-class telecommunications and equipment service company, have announced the launch of Nuvu (nuvu.tv), a subscription-based video-on-demand (VOD) service.

    Nuvu will provide subscribers access to more than 3,000 local and international TV and film titles, empowering Airtel customers to download content directly to their smartphones or tablets at no additional data cost during off-peak network times.

    Also, subscribers will be able to access the content off-line for up to 30 days after downloading.

    The service will launch initially as an Android app for smartphones. The app offers subscribers a personalised user interface with features that include bookmarking and personal recommendation.  The app will be available to other mobile platforms at a later time.

    Commenting on the new service, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Ahmad Mokhles, said: “Nuvu is a glowing testimony and clear demonstration of Airtel’s commitment to revolutionise Nigeria’s mobile Internet space with innovative offerings that will enrich the lives of consumers and empower them to succeed in their respective endeavours.”

    According to him, Nuvu is a game-changer that will excite, delight, engage and entertain telecoms consumers, offering them original premium and exclusive content.

    “Airtel is excited to collaborate with Ericsson to pioneer the new Nuvu innovation, a first of its kind in Nigeria. Airtel will continue to leverage world class partnership to create relevant and bespoke offerings that will reward telecoms consumers in Nigeria,” noted Mokhles.

  • Ericsson urges CBN, telcos on mobile money

    The President and Managing Director, Ericsson Nigeria, Rutger Reman, has advised stakeholders in the information communications (ICT) space in Nigeria to close ranks and ensure the success of mobile money in the country.

    He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Communications Technology Ministry, deposit money banks (DMBs), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other relevant stakeholders in the industry to ensure that the scheme succeeded because of its overwhelming benefits to the economy.

    Reman, who spoke on Digitalising Nigeria: The role of Ericsson in Lagos at the weekend, said the punitive cost of printing, maintaining and managing cash would be reduced to the barest minimum while the CBN will be able to ascertain the quantity of currency in circulation at every given period of time.

    According to him, mobile money will reduce the incidence of frauds, dangers to life associated with carrying huge cash, deepen financial inclusion.

    He said the firm’s m-commerce solutions has edge in proactive maintenance to increase quality and lower cost, evolve from traditional business to business (B2B) relationship to direct B2C, secure and capture after-market sales through customer intimacy. He added that it enables new revenue streams and innovative partnerships

    “The solution is explicitly tailored to provide a new channel enabling financial inclusion, providing easy-to-use and secure next-generation mobile financial services, including those who do not have access to traditional banking services.

    ‘’Ericsson m-commerce solution includes the development of a mobile money platform, systems integration, learning services, managed services and support,” he said.

    He said 40 per cent of global mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks with leadership position in Long Term Evolution (LTE ) in world’s top 100 cities.

    According to him, ICT enablements facilitated by the technology giant include smart transport, smart buildings, smart travel, smart work, smart agriculture and land use, smart services/smart industry, smart grids (including smart homes).

    He said 70 per cent of the world’s population would live in cities by 2050; 1.8 billion would experience water scarcity by 2025; 2 billion vehicles on the roads in the world by 2035.

    He said technology would help address the wastage in the power and water sectors, adding in the area of waste management, technology has done wonders.

    Also, its Head of Network Products, Fisayo Araoye, said the in-building wireless market would more than double by 2020, to reach about $6 billion; Indoor wireless data traffic would grow more than 600 per cent by 2020.

  • Ericsson: Artificial intelligence to make inroad

    Consumers expect artificial intelligence (AI) to move from assistants to managers while virtual reality will be indistinguishable from physical in only three years, Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Johan Jemdahl has said.

    Speaking during the presentation of Ericsson Consumer Lab report in Lagos, he said the firm has discovered what it termed 10 hot consumer trends for 2017 and beyond.

    According to the technology firm, AI is an important theme this year and consumers see it playing a much more prominent role than before – both in the society and at work. In fact, 35 per cent of advanced internet users want an AI advisor at work, and one in four would like an AI as their manager.  At the same time, almost half are concerned that AI robots will soon make a lot of people to lose their jobs.

    Consumers are increasingly using automated applications, encouraging internet of things (IoT) adoption. Two in five believe smartphones will learn their habits and perform activities on their behalf automatically while car drivers may not exist in the future. One in four pedestrians would feel safer crossing a street if all cars were autonomous, and 65 per cent of them would prefer to have an autonomous car. It warned that as autonomous cars become a reality, car sickness issues will increase, and three in 10 foresee needing sickness pills. One in three also wants motion sickness pills for use with virtual and augmented reality technology.

    Almost four out of five virtual reality (VR) users believe it will be indistinguishable from reality in only three years. Half of the respondents were already interested in gloves or shoes that allow you to interact with virtual objects.

    “The smart device safety paradox: more than half already use emergency alarms, tracking or notifications on their smartphones. Of those who say their smartphone makes them feel safer, three in five say they take more risks because they rely on their phone.

    “Social silos: today, people willingly turn their social networks into silos. One in three says social networks are their main source of news. And more than one in four value their contacts’ opinions more than politicians’ viewpoints.

    “Augmented personal reality: over half of the people would like to use augmented reality glasses to illuminate dark surroundings and highlight dangers. More than one in three would also like to edit out disturbing elements around them,” Jemdahl said.

    According to Ericsson, two in five advanced internet users want to use only encrypted services, but people are divided. Almost half would like to have just reasonably good privacy across all services, and more than one out of three believes privacy no longer exists while more than two out of five advanced internet users would like to get all their products from the biggest five IT companies. Of those, three in four believe this will happen only five years from now.

    Reflecting on the rise of virtual reality, Michael Björn, Head of Research, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said: “Beyond real time, I believe we should be talking about reality time. In fact, what we call reality becomes ever more personal and subjective. Consumers not only surround themselves with the like-minded on social networks, but also are also starting to customise the way they experience the world with augmented and virtual reality technologies.

  • How to deepen internet penetration, by Ericsson

    Sweden multinational networking and telecoms equipment and services firm, Ericsson, has said investment in cutting-edge technology is crucial to deepening mobile broadband.            It added that innovations that make viable mobile internet investments in low average revenue per user (ARPU) markets such as Nigeria were also important.

    According to a trio of solutions for developing areas unveiled in February this year by the firm, titled: “Flow of Users, Zero Touch and Mobile Broadband Expander”, only four out of 10 people in developing countries are connected to the internet and about 15 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to electricity.

    Its Head of Network Product Solutions, Henrik Linnet, who spoke  via teleconference from South Africa during the unveiling of solutions that would help telcos to optimise costs, said the new solutions would help bridge the yawning digital divide by making mobile broadband (MBB) internet services affordable and ubiquitous.

    He said as governments met at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the firm was delighted to unveil another set of solutions to help bridge the digital divide and bring mobile broadband coverage to the remaining three billion people, who are underserved or without mobile broadband access.

    The new suite of solutions, which include software and hardware additions to Ericsson Radio System, provide the capabilities needed to reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 40 per cent when rolling out solution for mobile broadband.

    To complement deployment of the solutions are new unique mobile broadband tools, which allow operators to identify which sites in a global system for mobile communication (GSM)/EDGE coverage area have the highest number of users who already have internet-ready devices.

    Operators can then determine where it makes more sense to convert those sites first to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) or 4G/long term evolution (LTE), so that the greatest number of people will enjoy the benefits of mobile broadband.

    The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, co-chaired by the International Telecoms Union (ITU) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), has championed the role ICT plays in laying the foundation to achieving the United Nations SDGs, and its new report to be launched later this week highlights that the digital divide is shifting from basic telephony to internet.

    The Broadband Commission estimates that it would cost $450 billion to bring the next 1.5 billion people online.

    Head of Business Unit Network Products, Arun Bansal, said Ericsson supports the ITU’s Connect 2020 target of ensuring that more than 50 per cent of people in the developing world are using the internet by 2020.

     

  • Ericsson slashes 3,900 jobs

    Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, announced on Tuesday plans to slash 3,000 jobs in production, research and development and sales and some 900 consultants in Sweden.

    Ericsson said, in a statement, the slash was due to a tough global market.
    However, it said it would recruit about 1,000 research and development positions in Sweden over the coming three years.

    It said its cost and efficiency programme was progressing according to plan.
    The announcement confirms reports about job cuts at Ericsson, which said in July it would step up efficiency measures due to a tough market.

    Ericsson announced a nine billion Swedish crown ($1.1 billion) cost-cutting programme in 2014.

  • Ericsson: ICT tool vital to SDGs attainment

    The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be realised through the deployment of the tools of information communications technology (ICT), Swedish original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Ericsson, has said.

    Head of Ericsson Nigeria, Johan Jemdahl, who spoke during the signing of an agreement with Galaxy Backbone on deployment of e-government solutions to enhance public sector delivery,  said Ericsson would work with Galaxy Backbone, the government and private agencies to scope the roadmap and implement solutions for industry transformation.

    He said: “A recent report by Ericsson and the Earth Institute at Columbia University on the impact of ICT on sustainable development, calls on governments to harness technology, investment and new types of partnerships to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    “This partnership with Galaxy Backbone touches upon all of these criteria and places Nigeria on a clear path towards meeting the needs of a growing economy using ICT. This partnership also supports our vision of building a networked society in Nigeria, and we are excited to be partnering Galaxy Backbone on this journey.”

    Galaxy Backbone is Federal Government’s ICT shared services provider in Nigeria. The partnership is to design and deploy ICT based solutions and services supporting the delivery of efficient public services in the country.

    This deal is in keeping with Federal Government’s commitment to leverage ICT for job creation, improved security, economic diversification and social inclusion. It also supports the Minister of Communication’s vision to deploy e-Government as a tool to improve governance and efficiency in the delivery of quality public services.

    Chief Executive Officer, Galaxy Backbone, Yusuf Kazaure, said: “The transformative role of ICT for improved delivery of public services has become quite significant and in Nigeria, Galaxy is at the forefront in terms of the provision of the infrastructure and services that empower MDAs (ministries, department and agencies) to achieve their mandates through better service delivery to the citizens they serve.”

    Under the terms of the partnership, spanning three years, Ericsson will serve as advisor, systems integrator and implementation partner for ICT based solutions and services covering the transport, utility and safety and security sectors.

    Ericsson will also manage all deployed solutions and services while building capacity within Galaxy Backbone and partner public parastatals, ensuring that all deployments are eventually handed over to the government along with selected private sector players.

     

  • Airtel, Ericsson seek affordable broadband

    Airtel, Ericsson seek affordable broadband

    With over 90 per cent of the world’s population to be covered by mobile broadband networks by 2021, Airtel Nigeria and Ericsson are seeking affordable and ubiquitous broadband that will boost Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).

    In the second half of last year, Nigeria was among the top five countries worldwide in terms of mobile subscription additions, while Nigerian businesses are increasingly adopting mobile-first strategies.

    According to Ericsson Mobility Report Sub-Saharan Africa unveiled last year, 83 per cent of mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria rely solely on their mobile device for their internet connectivity.  To address this growing demand and increase access to affordable mobile broadband internet service, Airtel Nigeria and Ericsson are rolling out Ericsson Radio System (ERS) across the country.

    ERS’s multi-standard platform will enable the telco to cost-effectively leverage the reach, maturity and increasing affordability of 3G technology, while laying the foundation for their 4G and 5G evolution. The network-wide solution incorporates a broad range of products including: radio, baseband, small cells, backhaul, fronthaul, enclosures, power site equipment and the controller. These products are augmented through twice-yearly network software updates, and through Ericsson Global Services offerings.

    Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Ahmed Mokhles, said: “Mobile broadband access is really a prerequisite to achieving our key objective of enriching the lives and empowering the people of Nigeria to benefit both consumers and industry.  Ericsson Radio System provides the performance and efficiency to support this objective while also ensuring a future-proof evolution as Nigeria continues to establish itself as a progressive and innovative ICT-driven country.”

    By 2021, it is forecast that more than 90 per cent of the world´s population will be covered by mobile broadband networks.  Meanwhile, cost points for entry-level cellular devices reduced by 85 per cent over the last 10 years.  This increasing device affordability addresses the major barrier to entry and is achieved through the global economies of scale enabled by cellular standards.

    Head of Business Unit Radio, Ericsson, Arun Bansal, said:  “Airtel Nigeria and their customers are directly benefitting from the performance and efficiency innovations designed in to the Ericsson Radio System – network-wise, its future-proof multi-standard platform ensures a smooth evolution, while its compact, modular design reduces operating costs enabling Airtel Nigeria to offer more affordable mobile broadband access today.

    “Ericsson Radio System has already won both the Global Mobile Award for Best Mobile Infrastructure and the Red Dot Award for Product Design, but it is the recognition of our key customers like Airtel Nigeria that matters the most.”

    Ericsson Radio System was launched at MWC 2015, and started shipping to customers in Q3 2015.  Its innovative rail system enables the Ericsson Radio System to adapt to any site, with zero floor footprint and easy one-bolt installation while its modular, compact and energy efficient radios reduce both operating and capital expenses, delivering three times the capacity density with 50 per cent improvement in energy efficiency.  As operators, such as Airtel Nigeria, strive to deliver the best possible performance and quality of experience in the most cost-efficient way, Ericsson Radio System’s multi-standard, multi-band, multi-layer architecture supports their requirements today and on the road to 5G.

    Ericsson has also launched software and hardware innovations, including Intelligent Antenna Sharing, aimed at lowering the cost of mobile broadband access, and a Managed Rural Coverage services offering focused specifically on addressing the economic challenges of delivering mobile broadband access to rural areas.

  • Ericsson, MTN deploy LTE

    Ericsson, MTN deploy LTE

    Ericsson has deployed a new LTE network for MTN in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The deployment will enable MTN to offer its 16 million subscribers high-quality mobile broadband experiences based on High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and long term evolution (LTE) technologies.

    Under the agreement, Ericsson will install its multi-standard radio solution which supports GSM/EDGE, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)/HSPA, and LTE. The solution supports cost-effective deployment, along with capacity and functionality evolution.

    Ericsson offers an advanced mixed-mode (2G/3G/LTE) solution that offers an efficient means for operators to migrate their networks to LTE. Ericsson’s solutions enable operators to support existing 2G and 3G traffic with current resources, thereby freeing up spectrum to provide high-speed LTE data services and positioning operators to capitalise on mobile data growth.

    According to the Sub-Saharan Africa appendix of the Ericsson Mobility Report, WCDMA/HSPA combined with LTE will account for almost 80 per cent of subscriptions in the region by the end of 2021. In addition, data usage will grow 15 times from current levels, with LTE subscriptions growing 28 times.

    WCDMA is a 3G wireless standard which utilises one 5MHz channel for both voice and data, initially offering data speeds up to 384kilobytes per second (Kbps).

    HSPA is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) that extend and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunication networks utilising the WCDMA protocols

    Speaking on the development, CEO, MTN Ghana, Ebenezer Twum Asante, said: “MTN Ghana is happy to roll out its LTE services. Our customers are looking for world-class data access that is capable of meeting all their unique connectivity requirements and we are excited at the opportunity to provide them this latest technology.”

    Country Manager, Ericsson Ghana, Ignacio Gelso, also said: “As a global LTE leader, we are excited by the opportunities for inclusion and empowerment that connectivity brings to Africa and Ghana. There is a growing recognition among operators of the need to deploy 4G/LTE to keep their mobile broadband offerings competitive. Ericsson’s technology leadership makes us a trusted transformation partner for operators exploring the possibilities of the Networked Society.”

     

     

    Ericsson is present today in all high traffic LTE markets including the US, Japan, and South Korea, and is ranked first for handling the most global LTE traffic.  In addition, forty percent of the world’s total mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks.  More than 250 LTE RAN and Evolved Packet Core networks have been delivered by Ericsson worldwide, of which 190 are live commercially

     

  • Loading web page delays, videos raise heart rates, says Ericsson

    Tech giant Ericsson, has  said its new report shows that  delays in loading web pages and videos under time pressure caused mobile users’ heart rates to rise an average of 38 per cent.

    Six-second delays to video streaming caused stress levels to increase by a third. The report showed the impact of different levels of network performance on smartphone users, perceptions of telcos and digital content providers.

    According to the firm, neuroscience technology was used to objectively measure emotional responses to varied smartphone experiences.

    Its Mobility Report, says: “To put that in context, the stress incurred is equivalent to the anxiety of taking a math test or watching a horror movie alone, and greater than the stress experienced by standing at the edge of a virtual cliff. Once a video begins, an additional pause can cause stress levels to increase dramatically.

    “In the study, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of an operator increased significantly when associated with a delay-free experience – by 4.5 points. This finding was also reflected when measuring emotional engagement using a neuroscience-based motivational index.”

    The report however noted that the operator’s NPS dropped on average four points with moderate time-to-content and re-buffering delays. Interestingly, moderate delays result in a double negative for mobile operators: decreased engagement with their brand and increased engagement with competitors.