Japan's KDDI has announced an R&D partnership with Ericsson covering key 5G technology components.
The companies have agreed to develop a joint understanding of 5G use case, requirements and deployment scenarios.
The agreement also covers the evaluation of the performance and applicability of 5G components including radio and core technologies.
"We are committed to providing high-quality network performance and user experience to address the needs and expectation of our customers,” KDDI managing executive officer for technology Yoshiaki Uchinda said.
“Through our joint efforts with Ericsson we will study 5G technologies and take an important step toward bringing 5G capabilities to the market.”
Ericsson is currently involved in 5G test network initiatives covering the interactions between mobile devices and networks in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as capabilities based on SDN and NFV technologies.
The vendor has multiple R&D collaborations with operators in nations expected to lead the adoption of 5G.
These include two partnerships in South Korea, one with SK Telecom to trial core 5G technologies that recently resulted in the first demonstration of 5G small cells, and the other a deal with LG U+ to develop 5G and IoT technologies including narrowband LTE.