MWC 2023: Orange taps Ericsson for 5G first in Spain

With the eyes of the communications world still on Spain, the local division of global telco Orange has launched the country’s first commercial 5G Standalone (SA) network, which is said to offer unparalleled user experience, low latency and advanced security features.

The commercial launch of the network, created in collaboration with leading comms tech provider Ericsson, is seen as a significant step for Orange, which has been driving a significant number of 5G SA pilot experiences to explore the technology’s possibilities in various sectors, including remote healthcare, precision agriculture and immersive tourism.

Orange Spain anticipates its customers will see notable benefits from the technology’s introduction, such as better indoor 5G coverage, more efficient device energy usage and advanced security features.

On top of these improved capabilities, Ericsson believes Orange will also benefit from the latest developments in cloud technology, as its 5G Core is built cloud-native and running on containers, which provides better modularity, dynamicity and automation capabilities.

The deployment of the new Orange 5G SA network will also support the company’s sustainability objectives, estimated to increase the energy efficiency required to transmit data up to 20 times by 2030.

The commercial launch of the network is seen as a significant step for Orange, which has been driving a significant number of 5G SA pilot experiences to explore the technology’s possibilities in various sectors, including immersive experiences.

Powered by Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core, the network is regarded as marking a significant milestone in Orange’s commitment to 5G technology. It will go live in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla, with more cities to be added over the course of the year.

The connectivity in Madrid and Barcelona is also delivered through Ericsson RAN services. 

“We are proud of our collaboration with Orange Spain to deliver cutting-edge 5G Standalone technology to mobile users in Spain for the first time,” said Luisa Muñoz, head of cloud software and services at Ericsson Iberia. “The improved capabilities of the network will transform the user experience and are a major milestone in the evolution of Orange Spain’s network offering.”

The live 5G SA network launch comes as a continuation of a longstanding partnership between the two companies. Throughout the deployment, Ericsson has supported Orange with technical and project coordination.

In addition, three Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure datacentres with containers capabilities have been built for the deployment of Ericsson’s cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core offering, which, said Ericsson, enabled Orange to launch 5G SA in record time.

Additionally, the 5G SA network has been built to contribute significantly to Orange’s sustainability objectives, with the technology estimated to increase the energy efficiency of transmitting 1 Gigabyte of information up to 20 times by 2030.