Ericsson announced its Ericsson Imagine Live 2024 roadshow in the Philippines, demonstrating the company’s advanced technological solutions and 5G use cases that are important to the Philippines’ transformation to a digital economy.
Andres Vicente, Head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, spoke at the inaugural Ericsson Imagine Live session about the significance of 5G infrastructure in driving the Philippines’ digitalization and assuring its long-term economic success. “5G is an innovation platform for enabling digital transformation in businesses and society. According to Ericsson study, a 10% increase in mobile broadband penetration can boost economic growth by up to 0.8%. Ericsson is excited to collaborate with the Philippine government on its digitalization objectives and to establish a robust digital infrastructure for the country via 5G.”
5G enables the large-scale deployment of technologies such as AI and Cloud on top of secure, dependable, and always-on 5G networks, bringing up new opportunities for consumers and businesses alike.
Digital transformation opens up numerous chances for organizations to create new value, acquire a competitive advantage, and save money. 5G would provide users with more immersive experiences, faster download speeds, smoother video streaming, more responsive gaming. Better connectivity also leads to better healthcare via telemedicine, education via remote learning, and a higher quality of life.
“More affordable 5G smartphones, a maturing 5G ecosystem, coupled with accelerated 5G deployments will serve to boost 5G adoption in Philippines. Investments in 5G deployments will not only enhance 5G coverage but will also lead to better quality of service for consumers.” states Daniel Ode, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Philippines and Brunei. With more investments being made on 5G, over 40% of the total mobile subscriptions in Philippines are expected to be on 5G by 2030.
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G is experiencing rapid global adoption, with 1.9 billion subscriptions expected by the end of Q2, 2024. 5G mobile subscriptions are expected to reach roughly 5.6 billion in 2029, accounting for 60 percent of all mobile subscriptions at the time. In the Philippines, 5G subscriptions presently account for approximately 9% of all mobile subscriptions.
Looking beyond enhanced mobile broadband, the Philippines has a high potential for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) due to its tough geography, inadequate infrastructure for fixed broadband deployment, and more than 40% rural population. According to an Ericsson Consumer Lab study, one-third of families in the Philippines rely on mobile connectivity at home (by FWA, smartphone, mobile hotspot, or similar), indicating a substantial need for a 5G FWA product. People will adopt FWA in droves if the correct user experience is offered.
Ericsson’s technical leadership and global deployment experience position it ideally to assist Communication Service Providers in the Philippines in effortlessly transitioning to 5G. Today, around 320 5G networks are in commercial service around the world, with Ericsson dominating the industry by powering 166 live 5G networks across five continents.
Ericsson is at the forefront of 5G technology worldwide, and the Frost Radar: Global 5G Network Infrastructure Market research recognizes it as an industry leader. Ericsson’s top ranking in the Frost Radar report over the years demonstrates the value of its investments in R&D and a diverse product portfolio, including 5G and previous generations of network infrastructure, in an ever-changing market.
With over 36 years of presence in the Philippines, Ericsson continues committed to supporting the government’s digital agenda and helping its clients, communication service providers, to realize the benefits of 5G.
Ericsson Imagine Live
Four areas have been set up to show 5G use cases and demonstrations: “Capture the value of 5G for Consumers,” “Capture the value of 5G for Enterprises,” “Shape our future together,” and “Programmable networks.” Andres Vicente talked about the four areas where the demos have been set up and said that 5G is giving communications service providers (CSPs) new possibilities in both the established mobile broadband business and by looking into new value pools.
In the “Capture the value of 5G for Consumers” zone, the Immersive Sports Fan experience demo lets people experience sports like never before. It does this by giving sports clubs a way to connect directly with their huge fan groups, which can lead to new revenue streams. CSPs can make sure fans have a great experience and get a cut of the income by using network slicing and APIs. An Ericsson ConsumerLab study called “Capturing 5G Value: Turning Performance into Loyalty” found that 5G users in the Philippines spend an extra 25 minutes a day on data-heavy digital services like video calling, streaming 4K/HD video, and e-sports compared to users in the 5G early adopter markets.
Another example, called “Superior Uplink for livestreams,” shows how Uplink Carrier Aggregation can be used to get around the problems that come with 5G upload speeds and make real-time livestreaming possible on smart glasses that are already on the market. Combining bands in this technology speeds up uploads, improves performance, encourages the use of 5G Standalone, and makes the best use of spectrum.Ericsson is showing how it is changing the mobile network scene in the “Programmable Networks” zone by making it possible to differentiate premium 5G experiences in a way that is both sustainable and scalable, which is changing what CSPs can offer. By offering different types of connectivity on a large scale, Ericsson’s new software toolkit for RAN and Core gives CSPs the power to take advantage of growth possibilities.
Another demo shows how Ericsson’s RedCap technology helps CSPs’ businesses grow by making device platforms simpler and smaller for mid-tier use cases. This makes the 5G ecosystem bigger so it can meet the needs of all kinds of consumers, businesses, and industries for connectivity on both FDD and TDD bands.
The “Capture the value of 5G for Enterprises” zone shows how 5G can improve worker safety and efficiency in key infrastructure fields like mines, wind farms, and oil refineries. By working with RealWear and OverIT, Ericsson is making it possible for safe, reliable, real-time access to complex data. This is so that connected workers can have an immersive experience that can be used in dangerous places where they need to be able to accurately position themselves and handle a lot of connected devices. The “Connected Vehicles” demo looks at what connected vehicles can do and how enterprise-grade connection can really change the way people get around.
In the “Shape our Future Together” zone, Ericsson is showing how the QoD API and network slicing can be used by world-famous brands like Toyota and Sony in use cases that require a lot of data. This shows that Ericsson is a star in the field of Network APIs and 5G monetization. It also fits with the company’s plan to create a platform business and work together with strong partners to make the industry better. The zone also has a program called “Teaching with Technology.” This program shows how VR courses and ICT learning tools can be used to make learning more fun for students and help them remember things, think more critically, and learn digital skills. Students can talk to virtual classmates in a variety of realistic situations that are meant to feel like real classrooms. This tool is currently being used by more than 1,000 teachers from nine public high schools in the Philippines.
