Page 104 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2022

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

UScellular Enlists Ericsson for C-Band, 3.45GHz 5G Rollout

United States Cellular (UScellular) has (FCC) Auction 107 sale, paying a total of US Cellular paid USD579.6 million for 380
enlisted Ericsson to help accelerate the USD1.46 billion. In Auction 110, meanwhile, licenses 3.45GHz licenses.
ongoing enhancements to its 5G network.
The deal includes the deployment of
UScellular’s recently acquired C-band
and 3.45GHz spectrum and opens up
the opportunity for the cellco to explore
enhanced fixed wireless access (FWA). It
adds to UScellular’s existing deployment
of Ericsson RAN technologies, including
low-band (600MHz) and millimeter wave
(mmWave, 24GHz/28GHz) 5G equipment.
UScellular expects to activate its mid-
band spectrum for customer use by the
end of 2023. The two companies note
that the contract builds on a decade of
collaboration dating back to the cellco’s
initial launch of 4G back in March 2012.
UScellular acquired 254 C-band licenses in
the Federal Communications Commission

UK Cellco to Reach 50% of the Population with 5G

the development, the MNO said it had
extended coverage to a number of new
locations, while also saying it was offering
an ‘improved 5G service’ in others. The
locations where service has either been
made available or improved comprise:
Blackpool, Clacton-on-Sea, Clitheroe,
Cowes, Eastbourne, Exeter, Exmouth,
Falmouth, Great Malvern, Hastings,
Inverness, Minehead, Morecambe,
Plymouth, Pontypridd, Poole, Ross-on-
Wye, Salisbury, St Austell and Tiverton.
Marc Allera, CEO Consumer Division at EE
parent company BT Group, said: ‘Today’s
milestone is a huge achievement in our 5G
journey. EE was the first network to launch
5G in the UK and now we’re the first mobile
network operator to take the technology to
50% of the UK population. Our ambitions for
5G don’t stop here. We’ll continue to invest
in our network to provide our customers
with unrivalled connectivity.’ Meanwhile, as
part of its ongoing network investment EE
British mobile network operator (MNO) UK population, claiming to be the first has pledged to offer 5G anywhere in the UK
EE has announced that its 5G network of the country’s cellcos to achieve this by 2028 through its macro network and ‘on
is now available to more than 50% of the milestone. In a press release regarding demand’ connectivity solutions.

104 MAY-JUNE 2022