2017-02-16

Ericsson, China Unicom and the Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, completed an end-to-end data call using Cat-M1 technology on China Unicom Beijing branch’s live network in Yizhuang, Beijing on December 29, 2016.

The trial used Qualcomm Technologies MDM9206 LTE modem communicating live on a mobile broadband network provided by Ericsson. The trial focused on the evaluation of Cat-M1, a new cellular IoT technology that was standardized in 3GPP Release 13 for low-power wide-area (LPWA) applications and services.

The trial is part of a project called “China Unicom Cellule IoT technology and applications trial” which was launched by the China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute (CUNTRI) in 2016. To support successful implementation of this project, Ericsson and China Unicom Beijing branch deployed Cat-M1 and NB-IoT trial sites on live networks in the Yizhuang and Fangshan areas of Beijing.

Yun Hu, Director of IoT Technology and Development Center, China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute, says:

“IoT, the fourth wave of mobile communication, will drive the revenue growth of operators’ mobile services. China Unicom is trialing NB-IoT and Cat-M1 technology which enables us to continue exploring new models of IoT services.

“We aim to bring in more industry partners to build more new IoT applications in China Unicom’s IoT open lab, to leap forward to the era of IoE (Internet of Everything),” she said.

Adrian Ong, Vice President, Business Development, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., says,

“With our cost-optimized, flexible and scalable LTE IoT modems, Qualcomm Technologies is bringing the world’s widely deployed cellular technology into the IoT segment. We are delighted to join hands with China Unicom and Ericsson to further validate and redefine brand new opportunities brought by LTE technology to the entire industry.”

Per Narvinger, Vice President Network Systems , Ericsson, says:

“With our advanced network evolution technology, global scale and rich experience, Ericsson aims to boost China Unicom’s IoT development strategy.”

Ericsson is present today in all high-traffic LTE markets including U.S., Japan and South Korea, and is ranked first for handling the most global LTE traffic. More than 270 LTE RAN and Evolved Packet Core networks have been delivered by Ericsson worldwide, of which 200 are live commercially.