Ericsson has extended its research and development partnership with King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia for an additional two years. The decision to prolong their collaboration builds on the positive outcomes achieved during their initial three-year partnership. Together, the institutions have focused on advancing technologies crucial to the telecommunications industry, particularly 5G, 6G, on-chip reflective intelligent surfaces, and free-space optical communications.
By expanding their partnership, Ericsson and KAUST continue to emphasize the need for innovation in telecommunications. Their joint research efforts have delved into machine learning for frequency-selective wireless channels and transparent and flexible intelligent surfaces. Now, the focus will shift towards on-chip reflective intelligent surfaces and new free-space optical communication techniques, promising exciting advancements for the next generation of telecommunication technologies.
The partnership has not only produced significant scientific research but also facilitated knowledge exchange between students and researchers from KAUST and Ericsson Research in Sweden. Pierre Magistretti, VP of research at KAUST, stated, “The extension of our partnership with Ericsson reflects our shared vision for pioneering the telecommunications landscape of tomorrow.”
Through this collaboration, both Ericsson and KAUST have combined their expertise to foster groundbreaking research and contribute to a skilled talent pool aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. This collaboration aims to further innovations and explores the potential of advanced telecommunications technologies.
Mashhour Al-Sudairy, head of local content at Ericsson Saudi Arabia, noted that their partnership has previously yielded significant telecommunication advancements, particularly pushing the boundaries in the 5G and emerging 6G space. As the partnership moves into its next phase, the emphasis will remain on harnessing next-generation technologies to revolutionize connectivity.
Earlier this year, Saudi telecom group stc and Ericsson achieved a record data uplink speed in a 5G Standalone demonstration. Utilizing 5G New Radio Dual Connectivity, the demonstration achieved data transmission speeds of over 4 gigabits per second (Gbps). This milestone highlighted the practical benefits of their collaborative research, enhancing the efficiency, reliability, and coverage of data transmission between networks and devices.
