November 25, 2015, 09:00 (CET)

• Ericsson agrees with KDDI to jointly evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components

• Companies to develop a joint understanding of 5G use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios

• Areas of interest include radio and core technologies

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced a 5G research and development collaboration with KDDI, a leading telecommunications operator based in Tokyo, Japan. Representatives from KDDI and Ericsson have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intention to advance technology evolution towards 5G.

Under the agreement, the two companies will develop a joint understanding of 5G use cases, requirements and deployment scenarios, as well as evaluate performance and applicability of potential 5G key technology components. The areas of interest for the companies include radio and core technologies.

Yoshiaki Uchida, Managing Executive Officer, Technology Sector, Member of the Board, KDDI, says:

"We are committed to providing high-quality network performance and user experience to address the needs and expectation of our customers. Through our joint efforts with Ericsson we will study 5G technologies and take an important step toward bringing 5G capabilities to the market."

Chris Houghton, Head of Region North East Asia, Ericsson, says:

"This MoU is another important milestone in Ericsson's partnership with KDDI and an opportunity for both companies to strengthen the technology foundation for the evolution toward 5G. The combination of Ericsson and KDDI's technology leadership will generate valuable synergies that strengthen our research and development."

5G will drive an evolution of the entire future communications ecosystem, from devices to mobile access, IP core and the cloud. Ericsson's latest 5G test network initiatives cover the interactions between mobile devices and radio access networks in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, as well as the new capabilities and characteristics of core networks based on Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) technologies.