VodafoneZiggo, a leading Dutch communications service provider, has announced the launch of its 5G offering, the first to launch in the Netherlands, in partnership with Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and Ericsson 5G Core.
VodafoneZiggo provides fixed, mobile and integrated comms and entertainment services to both consumer and business clients in the Netherlands, with five million mobile subscribers and approximately 8,000 employees.
“We are making use of the latest innovative technology to apply 5G in existing frequency bands, using our existing antennas."
Jeroen Hoencamp, VodafoneZiggo.
“5G is an evolution that opens doors to new possibilities. Today we are introducing 5G via ‘Ericsson Spectrum Sharing’ in our GigaNet,” said Jeroen Hoencamp, CEO of VodafoneZiggo. “We are making use of the latest innovative technology to apply 5G in existing frequency bands, using our existing antennas. With the addition of 5G, we want to offer the Netherlands the best fixed and mobile digital infrastructure in the world which will result in a new form of connectedness. Keeping our customers connected is at the core of what we do, and we know this partnership with Ericsson will ensure that we do just that”.
The launch of 5G continues a long-standing partnership between Ericsson and VodafoneZiggo, and in January 2020, they launched a 5G co-creation environment, with the additional support of Brainport Development and the High Tech Campus, called the 5G HUB, which offers companies, startups and students the chance to explore 5G in practice.
Part of their GigaNet strategy, VodafoneZiggo is switching on their 5G network using the Ericsson Spectrum Sharing solution enabling their subscribers to benefit from improved user experience.
The Dutch spectrum environment
“Launching 5G in the most economical way by jointly deploying an end-to-end 5G solution using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing."
Arun Bansal, Ericsson.
In June of 2020, the 700MHz frequency will be auctioned in the Netherlands, but the 3.5GHz band, which is currently being used by the country’s defense satellite system, will not be available until 2022. But by deploying Ericsson Spectrum Sharing now, VodafoneZiggo says that it can quickly introduce 5G over a wide area, “using existing frequency bands and existing Ericsson Radio System equipment”.
“This is another great example of our strong partnership with VodafoneZiggo,” said Arun Bansal, President Europe and Latin America, Ericsson. “Launching 5G in the most economical way by jointly deploying an end-to-end 5G solution using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, as well as leveraging their existing Ericsson Evolved Packet Core in a Non-Standalone configuration. Truly, it’s in times of crisis that we realize just how vital our communications networks are. Investing in 5G opens so many opportunities for us all, from remote medical care to automating resilient utilities services. Working together, we can keep more people connected, and safe.”
The Ericsson Spectrum Sharing software, which is now commercially available, can run on any of the five million 5G-ready radios Ericsson has delivered since 2015.
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