Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has been selected by Taiwanese communications service provider Far EasTone (FET) as its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) vendor. The deal spans 5G RAN across FET’s spectrum assets in the low, mid and high bands using Ericsson Radio System products and solutions.

FET expects the first commercial 5G services on the 3.5GHz spectrum band to be ready during summer 2020 in Taiwan. Ericsson is currently the sole provider of FET’s 4G LTE network.

Ericsson Spectrum Sharing and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered radio access network solutions will be deployed as part of the roll out. Ericsson Spectrum Sharing will help FET to allocate spectrum assets efficiently based on traffic demand using existing infrastructure – enabling a smoother transition to 5G.

Ericsson’s new AI-driven software capabilities will increase 5G coverage and 4G performance through a straightforward software upgrade. AI-based network optimization services are key to increasing speeds and predicting traffic in real time. Network performance will be continuously improved, delivering a superior user experience.

Chee Ching, President of FET, says: “Choosing Ericsson as a 5G partner helps reduce the complexity of both multi-vendor interoperability and 4G/5G migration, allowing us to provide our customers in Taiwan with a superior 5G experience and an efficient next-generation 5G mobile network. With our 5G-ready core and transport solutions, FET plans to have a commercial 5G offering during this summer.”

Chafic Nassif, Head of Ericsson Taiwan, says: “Having already achieved several 5G technology development firsts in Taiwan with FET, this deal means we can take that partnership to new levels. By working closely with FET, we will help bring the competitive innovative benefits of 5G, IoT, AI and the Cloud to FET’s consumer and business customers as Taiwan embraces the digital society.”  

FET and Ericsson have partnered on 5G since signing an MoU in 2016. They have collaborated to develop use cases aimed at highlighting the value of 5G to consumers and enterprises. These include artificial intelligence (AI), private networks, smart manufacturing, augmented reality/virtual reality, media and fixed wireless access.