Swisscom and Ericsson have today unveiled an expansion to their longstanding partnership. This update outlines a multi-year agreement, aimed at enhancing Swisscom’s innovation ecosystem and spurring growth and improved energy efficiency for the service provider’s 5G network in Switzerland.
Swisscom’s mobile network has notched a seven-year run as the top-ranked network in Switzerland according to connect magazine and umlaut measuring institute’s mobile network test. Swisscom’s network has developed remarkably over the years under its cloud-native transformation plans.
Emphasizing its eco-focus, Swisscom is investing in products and solutions to increase energy efficiency and curb carbon emissions. The agreement is set to introduce the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) to facilitate extensive multi-technology network management and automation for the Swisscom network.
By adopting the platform, Swisscom can utilise the expanding Ericsson portfolio of rApps, including AI powered Cognitive Software rApps, as well as those available from other contributors in the open EIAP rApp Ecosystem. The EIAP ecosystem and Software Development Toolkit (SDK) will be instrumental in enhancing subscribers’ service experiences while delivering operational savings via industrial scale automation.
Swisscom’s commitment to enhance user experience will be heightened by their renewal of Ericsson Expert Analytics deployment. Outfitted with machine-learning and AI technology, it rapidly analyses and addresses potential subscriber issues to ensure impeccable service quality.
The contract will further introduce Ericsson’s award-winning, energy-efficient lightweight dual-band Radio 4490, alongside a next-generation RAN processor from Ericsson’s RAN Compute portfolio. Swisscom plans to equip numerous sites with Ericsson’s Massive MIMO portfolio over the next three years in a continued effort to deepen mid-band TDD coverage.
Swisscom also seeks to prepare its network for 5G Standalone deployment by continuous spectrum refarming to New Radio (NR), affording the opportunity to launch new services.
Under the new agreement, Swisscom will transition to Ericsson’s Cloud Native Infrastructure solution (CNIS). This shift promises to enhance the network’s formidable reliability and expand the capacity to host cloud-native telecom applications, reduce management overhead, introduce additional energy efficiencies, and lower the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Gerd Niehage, CTIO Swisscom, rightfully stated, “We’ve been working closely with Ericsson for over 10 years with a great amount of trust and success. We are now taking the next step in this long-standing strategic partnership as we endeavour to turn Switzerland’s best network into its smartest one. This will enable us to not only offer our customers the best customer experience, but also to place even greater focus on sustainability and innovation.”
The new deal emphasises the continuation of Swisscom and Ericsson’s collaborative relationship, with integrative bonds between product development teams guaranteeing smooth access to the latest Ericsson software innovations and updates.
