Mobile connectivity equipment giant Ericsson has expanded its indoor 5G portfolio with three new solutions aimed at increasing capabilities across the interiors of any homes or businesses.
The new offerings will be part of Ericsson’s Radio Dot System that allows for 5G signals to be expanded for indoor areas.
According to Ericsson, about 80% of mobile data is generated through indoor cellular connections. Because of this, indoor digital infrastructure is a critical component to expanding the use of 5G connections. Ericsson said that only minimal floor space in buildings — about 10% to 15% — is served by indoor 5G connectivity.
This includes sectors of all sizes including airports, offices, hotels and industrial buildings like factories, mines and ports.
Typically, in-building connectivity is generated by distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. However, Ericsson said this is a difficult and time-consuming process.
Indoor coverage
Ericsson’s indoor radio unit called IRU 8850 is suited for medium- to large-sized buildings that deliver up to four times the capacity of previous versions to enhance network performance and coverage. The device can serve up to eight venues from one centralized location with a 10 km fiber reach. It also supports both purpose-built and Cloud RAN architectures.
The second device, called the Ericsson Indoor Fusion Unit, is an all-in-one indoor 5G solution combining radio and baseband functionalities in one unit. This allows the device to be deployed quickly and easily. The device is aimed at small- to medium-sized buildings like coffee shops, chain stores, branch offices, movie theaters and restaurants. It can connect up to four Radio Dots with multi-Gbps per Dot.
Finally, new software called Ericsson 5G Precise Positioning provides location services for CSPs and enterprises like asset tracking and tool positioning. The software is good for environments such as factories, mines, hospitals, warehouses and other industrial private 5G network applications as well as emergency response scenarios.
