STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ericsson (BS:ERICAs) and Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) will team up to tap rising demand for mobile technology at industrial sites in Germany, as communications providers seek local uses for 5G with national deployment still years away.
Next generation 5G technology, which can provide data speeds at least 20 times faster than 4G, will underpin the great advances of the next era, from self-driving cars and augmented reality to smart cities and artificial intelligence.
The two companies said in separate statements on Tuesday that they aimed to work together on sites such as factory floors, airports and harbours.
Ericsson, which competes with Finland's Nokia (HE:NOKIA) and China's Huawei to build mobile data infrastructure worldwide, said that its so-called Campus networks would combine public and private mobile connectivity.
The stakes are high in an industry that is expected to spend $275 billion (£224 billion) on 5G technology over the next seven years in the United States alone, according to Accenture (NYSE:ACN) estimates.
Gartner said in a report earlier this year that most 5G deployments will initially focus on islands of deployment, adding that less than 45% of communications service providers globally will have launched commercial 5G networks by 2025.
Deutsche Telekom announced a limited rollout of 5G services in its home market last month, targeting early adopters in cities with the high-speed mobile technology.