Ericsson and the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) have signed an agreement to conduct joint 5G R&D.
CAICT, China's leading national ICT think-tank, has taken a pioneering role in the development of 4G and 4G standards. The body aims to have the same involvement in 5G.
With the agreement, Ericsson and CAICT aim to speed up the research and standardization of 5G technologies ahead of its expected commercial debut in 2020.
“CAICT is as committed as Ericsson to the international standardization of technologies through cooperation. We believe this is essential for achieving global economies of scale and fostering innovation,” CAICT president Cao Shumin said.
“China, with a fledging ICT industry infrastructure and the world's largest number of mobile subscriptions, will continue to be a vigorous driver of ICT innovation and sustainable growth.”
Ericsson is also working with operators including SK Telecom and SingTel on 5G R&D, and has entered a collaboration with IBM to develop 5G antenna technologies. Both SingTel and SK Telecom aim to be among the first operators in the world to launch commercial 5G networks.