Ericsson and Samsung cooperate for world’s first LTE interoperability

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Samsung have successfully achieved interoperability between the world’s first commercial LTE device from Samsung and the live network from Ericsson in Stockholm, Sweden - an important milestone in making 4G a reality.

LTE will transform the mobile-broadband user experience, providing the ultra-high data speeds anywhere, anytime. LTE will bring unparalleled services such as Internet TV, mobile video blogging, on-line video games and high speed mobile business environment.

Commercial LTE networks scheduled to offer services to consumers in 2010 will bring data rates far above what is possible in today’s mobile broadband networks allowing users to stay connected and enjoy seamless, high-quality, online services even while on the move.

Samsung and Ericsson have together developed necessary procedures to accomplish this end to end integration program. Through extensive testing in Stockholm, Samsung LTE dongles and Ericsson’s infrastructure have complied with the industry standard for commercial deployment, 3GPP Release 8 March baseline.

Johan Wibergh, Senior Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson says: “This is the first time a commercial, standard compliant LTE device demonstrated full interoperability with a live network. It is an important milestone for Ericsson and the mobile industry. Ericsson looks forward to using our leadership in LTE technology to help our customers to move into a new era of communications, improving the user experience for their mobile broadband customers. The cooperation with Samsung has been successful and shows that LTE services soon will be ready for the market”.

“We are excited to announce the first commercial LTE device that is fully compliant with the standard and compatible with live LTE networks,” said Byungduck Cho, Executive Vice President of Research and Development Centre, Digital Media and Communications Business in Samsung Electronics. “This mobile device will take the user experience to the next level by offering users a full broadband Internet experience on a LTE infrastructure.”

LTE enables unprecedented performance in terms of peak data rates, spectrum efficiency and delay. LTE can be deployed both in new and existing frequency bands and is designed to minimize the cost of network operation and maintenance.

The end-to-end connection was provided via LTE FDD technology, using Ericsson’s own live LTE network and the world’s first commercial LTE device from Samsung.


Notes to editors:

Photos of Johan Wibergh
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/photos/management.shtml

Photos of the device
http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/photos/lte_samsung.shtml

Ericsson’s multimedia content is available at the broadcast room:
www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room


Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 1 billion subscribers and has a leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises of mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of “to be the prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 75,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 209 billion (USD 32.2 billion) in 2008. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

www.ericsson.com
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About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.