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Ericsson sets Telkomsel on path to 5G with core upgrade

Indonesia's largest telco will upgrade its core in preparation for 5G.
Written by Chris Duckett, Contributor

Telkomsel has announced partnering with Ericsson for a core upgrade that Indonesia's biggest telco says will leave it ready to handle 5G and Internet of Things scenarios for enterprises.

Specifically, Ericsson will provide Telkomsel with new network virtualisation infrastructure, which when combined with its existing Cloud Packet Core, will form a "significant step" towards being 5G-ready, the Swedish telco said.

"Cloud solutions will help meet the growing demand for new network services to enhance productivity and efficiency. Ericsson's NFVI solution is ready for 5G technology and IoT, which will be of use to all operators and enterprise customers," Telkomsel network cloud management vice president Ivan C Permana said.

"The benefits of 5G will range from reduced data transfer time, dedicated network slicing, to an optimal distribution of the network's core capabilities."

Approximately one-third of Telkomsel is owned by Singtel, which has a long-standing arrangement with Ericsson.

The pair share a 5G development facility in Singapore, which in September, hit speeds of 1.5 Gbps on Singtel's 4G network.

In February, Singtel and Ericsson worked with Oppo to make a 5G augmented reality video call between Australia and Singapore.

"This call is a significant marker in our journey to 5G as we develop a robust 5G ecosystem to ensure that our enterprise and consumer customers will enjoy an enhanced connectivity experience," Singtel CTO Mark Chong said at the time.

"5G is a key enabler that will bring the future of AR, autonomous vehicles, and smart cities closer to reality."

In its recent yearly earnings, Singtel said Telkomsel saw its pre-tax earnings drop 18% year on year to SG$1.1 billion.

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