One critical aspect of a successful 5G deployment is the mobile network operator’s ability to support user equipment, radio network, core network and management products that are manufactured by a multitude of device and network equipment vendors. The multiple connectivity options in 3GPP architecture for 5G have created several possible deployment alternatives. The latest Ericsson Technology Review article argues that there is a significant risk of ecosystem fragmentation if too many different connectivity options are deployed. After considering all the options, the authors conclude that a deployment approach based on options 3 and 2 will reduce network upgrade cost and time, simplify interoperability between networks and devices, and enable a faster scaling of the 5G ecosystem.

1. Standalone NR and 5GC with
appropriate features and
coverage for addressed use
cases.
Full 5GC and NR coverage
NR+5GC mainstream
LTE/EPC for legacy devices
EPC
eNBeNB eNB gNB eNB gNB eNB gNBeNBeNB eNB gNB
NR NRNRNR-low NRNR
LTE LTE LTE LTE/NR LTE/NRLTELTE
Option 1 Options 1, 3
Current industry focus Target architecture
Options 1, 2, 3 Option 2 (1,3)
1
3 2 231
EPC+ 5GCEPC+ EPC+ 5GC
ERICSSON
TECHNOLOGY
C H A R T I N G T H E F U T U R E O F I N N O V A T I O N | # 1 0 ∙ 2 0 1 8
5GECOSYSTEM:
ARCHITECTURE
OPTIONS

2. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM
2 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 30, 2018
BY REDUCING ARCHITECTURE OPTIONS
Simplifyingthe
Previous mobile generations have taught us that industry efforts to reduce
fragmentation yield massive benefits. In the case of 5G, an industry effort
to focus deployment on a limited set of key connectivity options will be
critical to bringing it to market in a timely and cost-efficient way.
TORBJÖRN CAGENIUS,
ANDERS RYDE,
JARI VIKBERG,
PER WILLARS
The multiple connectivity options in the 3GPP
architecture for 5G have created several
possible deployment alternatives. Initial
deploymentsfocusonoptions3(non-standalone
New Radio) and 2 (standalone New Radio).
However, the deployment of several
additional options would create a level of
complexity that impacts the whole 5G
ecosystem – across operator network
operations, equipment vendors and user
equipment (UE) chipset vendors as well as
spectrum assets. To avoid ecosystem
fragmentation, we believe that the best
approach is to limit the number of options
that are deployed.
■ Thereismuchmoretointroducing5Gthan
simplydeployingNewRadio(NR)technology.Fora
successful5Glaunch,theoperatorneedstosecurea
networkthatincludesend-to-end(E2E)capabilities
alignedacrossdevices,RAN,coreandmanagement
systems.5Gisalsoatechnologytransformationfor
operatorsstrivingformoreflexibilityandspeedin
networkdeployment–andwithanexpectationof
beingabletoaddressnewbusinessopportunities
withusecasesbeyondmobilebroadband(MBB).
Oneofthekeystrategictopicsthatoperatorsneedto
decideoniswhichconnectivityoptionstosupportin
thenetworktoaddressthetargetedusecases.
5Gconnectivityoptions
InRelease15,the3GPP[1]hasdefinedmultiple
architecturaloptionsforaUEtoconnecttothe
network,usingLTE/eLTEand/orNRaccessto
connecttoEvolvedPacketCore(EPC)or5GCore
(5GC)networks.Anewuseofdualconnectivityhas
alsobeenappliedtouseLTE/eLTEandNRasthe
masterorsecondaryradioaccesstechnology(RAT)
5Gecosystem

3. SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 3
Figure 1 UE connectivity options
Connectivity
option
Core
network
Master
RAT
Secondary
RAT
3GPP term 3GPP release
Option 1 EPC LTE - LTE Rel. 8
Option 3 EPC LTE NR EN-DC Rel. 15, Dec 2017
Option 2 5GC NR - NR Rel. 15, June 2018
Option 4 5GC NR eLTE NE-DC Rel. 15, March 2019
Option 5 5GC eLTE - eLTE Rel. 15, June 2018
Option 7 5GC eLTE NR NGEN-DC Rel. 15, March 2019
indifferentcombinations.Thishasresultedinsix
connectivityoptionsforaUE,asshowninFigure1.
Notethatwhiletheoptionterminologyisnot
explicitlyusedinthe3GPPstandardsspecifications,
itoriginatesfromthe5Gstudyphaseof3GPP
Release15andiswidelyusedintheindustry.
ThesixconnectivityoptionsshowninFigure1
definehowanysingleUEisconnectedtothe
networkatagiventime.Inmostcases,anetworkwill
supportasetofsuchoptionssimultaneously.One
basestationmayhavedifferentUEsconnectedvia
differentconnectivityoptions,aswellasmovinga
UEconnectionbetweentheoptionsdependingon
factorssuchasradioconditions.LegacyLTE/EPC
(option1)isthebaseline,andtheindustryhasan
alignedviewthattheinitial5Gdeploymentsare
basedonoptions3and2.Thenextstep,therefore,
istoestablishindustryalignmentonthepotential
useofoptions4,5and7.
Theneedforindustryalignment
Mobilenetworkoperatorsthatdeploy5Gmustbe
abletosupportUE,radionetwork,corenetworkand
managementproductsthataremanufacturedbya
multitudeofdeviceandnetworkequipmentvendors.
Withmultipleconnectivityoptions,andevenmore
possiblecombinationsofoptions,thereisahighrisk
thatdifferentoperatorswilldeploydifferentoptions,
inadifferentorder.Ifthathappens,chipset,device
andnetworkequipmentvendorsarelikelytoget
contradictoryrequirementsfromdifferentoperators
ormarkets.Thiswouldcausesignificantproductand
integrationcomplexity,aswellascreating
interoperabilityissuesthatprolongthetimeittakes
toestablishacompleteecosystemthatsupportsthe
deployedoptions.
Thecomplexitycausedbyamultitudeofdeployed
connectivityoptionswouldalsohaveanimpacton
theE2Etestingofservicesintheoperatornetwork,

4. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM
4 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 30, 2018
includingbothexistingserviceslikevoiceaswellas
newones.Further,thehigherthenumberofoptions
deployed,themorecomplexandtimeconsumingit
willbefortheoperatorcommunitytoestablish5G
roamingintheindustry.
Networkdeploymentsbasedonoptions3and2
Option3isthebestshort-termalternativefor5G
deployment,asitreliesonexistingLTE/EPC(option
1).Option3willprovidegoodperformanceinseveral
aspects,allowingoptimizedtransmissiononNR
whenNRcoverageisgood,extendingNRdownlink
(DL)usageonahigherbandbycombiningwitha
lower-bandLTEforuplink(UL)data,and,if
needed,aggregatingthroughputoverbothNRand
LTEspectrum.Italsoprovidesreliableandsmooth
mobilitybasedonanchoringinLTE/EPC,evenif
theNRcoverageisspotty.Theuseofdual
connectivityhas,however,introducedsomechallenges
ontheUEsidewithdualtransmitters,which,insome
cases,willlimitperformanceandcoverage.
Oneofthemaindriversforgoingbeyond
option3istoprovide5GC-enabledcapabilities
likeenhancednetworkslicing,edgecomputing
supportandoperationalbenefits,eventhough
EPCcanalsosupporttheseservicestosome
extent(slicingbasedonDECOR,forexample).
Anothermaindriverforgoingbeyondoption3
istobeabletodeploystandaloneNRandgetthe
radioperformancebenefitsofanNR-onlybased
radiointerface. Option2(standaloneNR)isthefirst
5GC-basedoptionavailableinUEsandnetworks.
EvenifgeneralNRcoverageislimited,option2
caninitiallybedeployedforspecificusecasesin
localareas,wheredevicesstaywithingoodNR
coverageonamidorhighband.Examplesinclude
industrialdeploymentswithultra-reliablelow
latencycommunicationrequirements,andfixed
wirelessaccess(FWA),evenifthelatterisalso
wellservedviaoption3.
Key enablers
❭❭ LTE-NR spectrum sharing
3GPP specifications allow efficient sharing of operator spectrum, so that one carrier appears as an NR carrier
to NR UEs, and an LTE carrier to LTE UEs. Resources are pooled and distributed dynamically between the two
RATs, according to instant needs. There is no impact on legacy LTE UEs, and the impact on LTE capacity is very
small. Compared with classic refarming, this provides a smooth migration of spectrum from LTE to NR as
NR-capable UE penetration increases, enabling NR to be rolled out on new and legacy bands.
❭❭ Spectrum regulation
Spectrum is becoming technology neutral in most of the world except for a few markets and frequency bands
where the spectrum license is currently tied to a specific RAT, prohibiting NR to operate in existing frequency
bands.ItisimportantthatregulatorsacknowledgetheneedforNRdeploymentinallbands.Thisisakeyenabler
formigrationtowideareacoverageofserviceslikeMBB/voiceandcMTCover5G,dependingonthepossibility
to deploy NR in lower frequency bands.
❭❭ Dual-mode core network
4G devices will be the major device type and traffic consumer for a long time [2].Inaddition,operatorsare
introducingnew5GdevicesdependingonbothEPC(option3)and5GC(option2). A “dual-mode” core network
with both EPC and 5GC functionality will support the evolving device fleet in the networkandenableasmooth
networktransformation.Toensureservicecoverageduringthemigrationperiod,thedual-modecorenetwork
willprovidetightinterworkingbetweenEPCand5GCforseamless4G-5Gmobility.

5. SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 5
Figure2illustratestheevolutionofspectrum
usageinanetwork,startingwithLTEdeployedon
sub-1GHzand1–3GHzbands.First,NRisdeployed
on3.5GHzand/ormmWandwithLTEbandsusing
option3.Thenextstepistodeployoption2for
specificusecasesinlocalareas–suchasforFWA
andindustrialdeployments.
ExpandingstandaloneNRcoverage
andcapacity
Whendeployingoption2forwide-areausecases
likeMBB,itisimportanttoensurecontinuousNR
coveragewithinthetargetedarea(initiallyurbanfor
example).SpottyNRcoveragewouldresultinfrequent
mobilityeventsbetweenNRandLTEforwide-area
usecases,eventhoughintersystemmobilitybetween
option2andLTE/EPCwillbewellsupported.For
theseusecases,option2requiresasufficientlylow
NRbandinrelationtothesitegrid.Inmanycases,
thesitegridfora3.5GHzdeploymentwillgivegood
DLcoveragebothoutdoorsandindoors,butnot
enoughULcoverage.NRon3.5GHzshould
thereforetypicallybecombinedwithNRonlow
bandtoprovidecontinuouscoverageinboththeUL
andDL[3].ThelowNRbandcanbenew,refarmed
oranexistingLTEbandthatissharedbetweenNR
andLTE.Withrefarmingorsharing,akeyenableris
thatthespectrumlicenseallowsNRdeployment
(seefactboxonpage4,spectrumregulation).
Tosupportoption2forMBBinanarea,itisalso
advisabletodeployNRinoneormorelegacyLTE
bandsusingLTE-NRspectrumsharing(seefactbox
onpage4,LTE-NRspectrumsharing).Together
withNRonlowandmid/highbands,thismaximizes
thethroughputviaNRcarrieraggregation(CA).
ThisisessentialtoprovidegoodMBBperformance,
especiallyinareaswithoutDLcoveragefromnew
NRbands.WhileNRdeploymentislimited,mobility
tooption2shouldonlybetriggeredwhentheUE
Figure 2 Spectrum migration steps for the 5G network
Add option 2
5GC NR SA for local
use cases in mid/high
bands
Option 2 on
wide area
NR in new or existing
low bands with
spectrum sharing/
refarming
NR-NR CA
Extend wide
NR on additional bands
Baseline: option 1
LTE-LTE CA
LTE NR LTE+NR
Add option 3
New NR spectrum on
mid or high bands
LTE-NR DC (EN-DC)
High bands (24GHz–40GHz)
Mid bands (3.5GHz–8GHz)
Mid bands (1GHz–2.6GHz)
Low bands (sub–1GHz)
WITHREFARMINGOR
SHARING,AKEYENABLERIS
THATTHESPECTRUMLICENSE
ALLOWSNRDEPLOYMENT

6. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM
6 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 30, 2018
hasenoughcoverageofsufficientNRspectrum,
whichcanbehandledwiththresholdsandoffsets.
ThepossibilityofaggregatingbandsusingCA,with
asingleULtransmitterintheUE,isanimportant
benefitofoption2,comparedwiththedual
connectivityusedinoptions3,4and7.Thethirdstep
ofFigure2showstheuseofNRonmultiplelegacy
LTEbandsusingLTE-NRspectrumsharing.
Options1and3providegoodsupportfor
smartphonesandMBB.MovingMBBtrafficto
option2requiressupportforvoicetelephony.
ThismeansthatNRmustbeabletosupportvoice
natively,aswellassupportingseamlessmobilityvia
handovertoLTE/EPCwhenleavingtheoption2
coveragearea.AsanintermediatestepbeforeNR
supports(andisdimensionedfor)voice,thevoice
servicecanrelyonEPSfallbacktoLTE/EPC.
Tight5GC-EPCinterworkingisneededforboth
voicesolutions,andthiswillalsoprovidegood
intersystemmobilityforotherservices(seefactbox
onpage4,dual-modecorenetwork).
WhenaUEleavesanareawheretheNRcoverage
isnotgoodenoughforoption2,thenetworkcan
triggerintersystemmobilitytoEPC,eithertooption
3or1.Thesupportofoption2canthusbeextended
graduallyinever-largerareasinanoperator’snetwork,
startingwithdenseurbanareas.Bydeploying
option2inhigh-trafficareasfirst,asignificant
amountoftrafficcanbemigratedfromEPCto
5GC,evenifthegeographiccoverageisinitially
morelimited.
ManyLTEsiteswillbemodernizedwithmore
advancedradiosforimprovedperformance(suchas
4T4R)orbyaddingmodernbasebandhardware,
andwillthentypicallybepreparedtosupportNR
ontheLTEbands.Thedeploymentofoption2
inaRANcapableofoption3isthendonewitha
softwareupgrade.ThesamegNBwillservesome
UEsinthesameNRcellwithoption3andothers
withoption2.
Figure3illustratesnetworkdeploymentduring
themigrationfromLTEtoNR.Inselectedurban
Figure 3 Network deployment during migration, including supported use cases
3.5GHz/mmW
Denseurban Urban Suburban Rural
2
2 2
2 1
3
3
3
2
1-3GHz
<1GHz
mIoT
1
2
SpectrumUsecases
3
2
3
1
3
2
LTE
NR
NR&LTEshared
MBB
mMTC
FWA
Local-areacMTC
mIoT

7. SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 7
areas,NR(inorange)isdeployedon3.5GHzor
mmWtoaddcapacitytothenetwork.NRisalso
deployed,onasub-1GHzband(tocomplementUL
coverage),andinlegacyLTEbandswithLTE-NR
spectrumsharing.
ThehorizontalblacklinesinFigure3represent
thecoverageofoptions1,2and3.Option1isused
inalargepartofthenetworktosupportMBBand
actasthemainsolutionforMassiveMachineType
Communication(mMTC)–specifically,Narrowband
InternetofThings(NB-IoT)andLTE-MTC
standard(LTE-M).Option3canbeusedanywhere
thereisNRcoverage.Earlyoption2deploymentsin
localareasincludeFWAandindustrialdeployments.
Option2forgeneralMBBissupportedwhere
thereislow-bandNRandsufficientNRbandwidth
(mid/highbandand/oron1-3GHz).
TheorangearrowsinFigure3indicatethatareas
ofgoodNRcoverageareexpandedgeographically,
coveringmoreurbanareas,andintimealso
extendingintosuburbanareasandbeyond.
Withthesupportofoptions1,2and3,keyusecases
suchasmMTC,MBBandindustrialcritical-MTC
(cMTC)willbesupportedinthenear-and
mid-termwithgoodperformance.
Targetarchitecture
Theindustryhasspecifiedanewradioaccess
technology–NR–andanewcorenetwork–
5GC–asthefoundationfortheevolutionof3GPP
networks,which,inourview,makesoption2the
long-termtargetarchitecturefortheindustry.Inthe
long-termtargetnetwork,option2isdeployedwith
widecoverage,usedbroadlyinmostdevices,and
shouldbethebasisforfutureinvestmentsand
featuregrowth.
Figure4illustratesthemigrationstepsto
the5Gtargetarchitectureforthemobileindustry,
recognizingoption2asthelong-termtarget.The
firststepistoaddoption3,followedbyoption2in
selectedareas.Bygraduallyexpandingtheareas
whereoption2isdeployed,theoperatorandthe
Figure 4 Migration steps toward target architecture
Standalone NR and 5GC with
appropriate features and
coverage for addressed use
cases.
Full 5GC and NR coverage
NR+5GC mainstream
LTE/EPC for legacy devices
EPC
eNBeNB eNB gNB eNB gNB eNB gNBeNBeNB eNB gNB
NR NRNRNR-low NRNR
LTE LTE LTE LTE/NR LTE/NRLTELTE
Option 1 Options 1, 3
Current industry focus Target architecture
Options 1, 2, 3 Option 2 (1,3)
1
3 2 231
EPC+ 5GCEPC+ EPC+ 5GC

8. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM
8 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 30, 2018
industrywillalwaysinvestinstepsleadingtothe
long-termtargetarchitecture.Eventually,the
option2coveragewillbesufficienttoalsosupport
wide-areacMTCusecasesthatwillbenefitfrom
bothNRand5GC.
Atsomepointinthefuturetherewillalsobe
mMTCsolutionsbasedonNR/5GC.However,many
mMTCservicesarealreadyadequatelyservedbythe
existingmMTCsolutionsNB-IoTandLTE-M.The
mMTCservicesinthelow-endLowPowerWide
Area(LPWA)segmentarejustoneexample.Toavoid
fragmentation,thebestalternativefortheseusecases
iscontinueduseofNB-IoTandLTE-Mforalongtime.
Thetimingtoreachthislong-termtargetmayvary
betweenmarkets.Itshouldbenotedthatevenwhen
thetargetisreached,networkswillneedtocontinue
tosupportasetoflegacydevices(LTE/EPC-based),
inparticularintheareaofmMTC.WhentheUE
penetrationforNRsupportishighenough,selected
bandscanbefullyrefarmedtoNR-only,asshownin
thelaststepofFigure2.
Analysisofoptions5,7and4
Theindustryhasdecidedtobasetheinitial
deploymentof5Gonoptions3and2.Whileoptions
5,7and4mayinitiallyseembeneficialforspecific
operators’deploymentcases,itisimportantto
recognizethatnoneofthemaredirectstepsleading
towardthelong-termtargetarchitecture.Further,
theuseofoptions5,7and4wouldaddunnecessary
complexityinthetargetarchitecture,inthe
interactionwithothernetworkfunctions,andinthe
evolutionofnewfeatures,whichneedstotakethe
combinationofallexistingoptionsintoaccount.
Afterathoroughanalysisofoptions5,7and4
thatencompassedthemaindrivers,potential
benefitsanddrawbacks,wehavecometothe
conclusionthatallthreecanandshouldbeavoided.
Wehavealsoidentifiedpreferredalternative
solutionsforeachoption.
Option5
Themaindriverfordeployingoption5istoallow
devicesthatmoveoutsidetheareacoveredbyoption
2toremainconnectedto5GC,whichwouldalso
increasethe5GCcoveragetoeLTEareas.
Akeyquestiontoconsideris:whichusecases
requirenationwide5GCcoverage?Traditional
MBB/voiceobviouslyrequireswide-areasupport,
butthisiswellsupportedwithintersystemmobility
duringthebuild-outofNRcoverage,asitwasin
previousgenerationshifts.5GCprovidesarange
ofnewvaluesbuttheneedforotherwide-area
5GC-basedservicesintheneartermisundefined.
Inthelongerterm,weexpectwide-areaoption2
toenablethenewusecasesthatemerge.
Option5couldbeusedtoincreasewide-area
5GCcoverage,butreachingfullwide-area5GC
coveragewouldtaketimeandinvestment,asitwould
requirenewUEs,newRANfunctionalityand
retestingthesystem.Option5wouldhaveamajor
impactontheUEsintermsofsupportingthe5GC
non-accessstratumandthenewpartsoftheeLTE
radiointerface,aslegacyLTEdevicesarenot
supported.Inaddition,substantialinteroperability
retestingbetweennetworksandUEswouldbe
requiredtoensuretheoperationoflegacyfeatures
andservices,includingVoLTE.Further,option5
requiressubstantialupgradesoftheeNBsoftware
and,inmanycases,theeNBbasebandhardware
aswell.
THEINDUSTRYHAS
DECIDEDTOBASETHEINITIAL
DEPLOYMENTOF5GON
OPTIONS3AND2

9. SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 9
Insummary,option5isunlikelytoprovideafaster
routeto5GCwide-areacoveragethanthewide
deploymentofoption2.Widedeploymentofoption2
isthebetteralternative,particularlysinceoption5
wouldmeaninvestingintechnologythatdoesnot
capitalizeonthebenefitsofthelatestradio
technology(NR).
Option 7
Option7buildsonoption5andcannotexistwithout
it.Ifoption5weretobeused,itisverylikelythat
option7wouldalsobesupportedinareaswithNR.
Thedriverforoption7isthesameasforoption3;
thatis,tousedualconnectivitytoaggregateNRand
LTEbandstoenhancecapacity,butinthiscasefora
UEconnectedviaeLTEto5GC.Accordingtothe
samelogicexplainedintheOption5sectionabove,
werecommendusingoption2instead.
Option4
Option4isanadditiontooption2,usingdual
connectivitytoaddeLTEtoanNRanchor.Itis
primarilyrelevantwhenservingMBBtrafficvia
5GC.Thedriverforoption4istomaximize
throughputwhentheamountofNRspectrumis
limited.Anexampleofthistypeofsituationwould
beifNRisdeployedon700MHz,3.5GHzandmmW,
buttheUEisoutsidecoverageofthetwohigherbands.
Intermsofdrawbacks,option4wouldrequire
newsoftwaresupportineNB,gNBandUE,with
relatedinteroperabilitytesting.Further,thefuture
evolutionoffeatureswouldneedtoconsideroption4,
anditsusewouldrequirecontinuedinvestmentsin
eLTEdeploymentsforalongtime.
Option4isnotnecessary,andperformsworse
thanoption2withNR-NRCAandenoughNR
spectrum, inareasservingMBBvia5GC.Using
option2insteadofoption4alsofocusesinvestments
ontherolloutofthelong-termtargetarchitecture.
Conclusion
Ouranalysisshowsthatthemobileindustryhasan
opportunitytosimplifythe5Gecosystemby
focusingnetworkdeploymentsonconnectivity
options3and2,whicharecapableofdelivering
allthe5Gbenefitswithoutaddingunnecessary
complexityandcost(asinoptions5,7and4).
Theflexibledesignofradioandcorenetworks
supportsasmoothmigrationwithLTE-NR
spectrumsharinganddual-modecoretechnologies.
Theregulationoffrequencybandsshouldallow
NRdeploymentinexistingLTEbandsthatare
insyncwiththerequiredspectrummigration.
Operatorshavetheopportunitytoavoid
connectivityoptions5,7and4byimplementinga
proactivespectrummigrationstrategythat
considersNRfornewlowbands,andbyrefarming
orintroducingLTE-NRspectrumsharingin
existinglow/midbands.Thisapproachwill
reducenetworkupgradecostandtime,simplify
interoperabilitybetweennetworksanddevices,
andenableafasterscalingofthe5Gecosystem.
A5Gdeploymentapproachbasedexclusivelyon
options3and2ensuresthatinvestmentisfocused
onthelong-termtargetarchitecture,leveragingfull
5GScapabilities.Earlykeyusecasesforwide-area,
likeMBBincludingvoiceservices,arefullysupported
duringthemigrationperiod,alongwithservices
toexistingdevices.
THEMOBILEINDUSTRY
HASANOPPORTUNITY
TOSIMPLIFYTHE5G
ECOSYSTEM

10. ✱ SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM
10 ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW ✱ NOVEMBER 30, 2018
Further reading
❭❭ Ericsson, 5G deployment options, 2018, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/narratives/
networks/documents/5g-deployment-considerations.pdf
❭❭ Ericsson, Core evolution from EPC to 5G Core, download available from: https://pages.digitalservices.
ericsson.com/core-evolution-to-5g
References
1. 3GPP Release 15 specifications, e.g. TS 23.501, TS 38.401, available at: http://www.3gpp.org/release-15
2. Ericsson Mobility Report, available at: https://www.ericsson.com/en/mobility-report
3. Ericsson Technology Review, November 2018, The advantages of combining 5G NR with LTE, available at:
https://www.ericsson.com/en/ericsson-technology-review/archive/2018/the-advantages-of-combining-5g-nr-
with-lte
Terms and abbreviations
4T4R – 4-Branch Transmit/Receive Antenna and Radio Arrangement | 5GC – 5G Core | 5GS – 5G System |
CA – Carrier Aggregation | cMTC – Critical Machine Type Communication | CN – Core Network | DC – Dual
Connectivity | DECOR – Dedicated Core Network | DL – Downlink | E2E – End-to-end | eLTE – Evolved LTE |
eNB – Evolved Node B | EN-DC – E-UTRA – NR Dual Connectivity | EPC – Evolved Packet Core | FWA – Fixed
Wireless Access | gNB – Next Generation Node B | IoT – Internet of Things | LPWA – Low Power Wide Area |
LTE-M – LTE-MTC Standard | MBB – Mobile Broadband | mMTC – Massive Machine Type Communication |
mmW – Millimeter Wave | NB-IoT – Narrowband Internet of Things | NR – New Radio | RAT – Radio Access
Technology | UE – User Equipment | UL – Uplink

11. SIMPLIFYING THE 5G ECOSYSTEM ✱
NOVEMBER 30, 2018 ✱ ERICSSON TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 11
theauthors
Torbjörn Cagenius
◆ is a senior expert in
network architecture
at Business Area Digital
Services. He joined Ericsson
in 1990 and has worked
in a variety of technology
areas such as fiber-to-the-
home, main-remote RBS,
fixed-mobile convergence,
IPTV, network architecture
evolution, software-defined
networking and Network
Functions Virtualization. In
his current role, he focuses
on 5G and associated
network architecture
evolution. He holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Anders Ryde
◆ is a senior expert in
network and service
architecture at Business
Area Digital Services,
based in Sweden. He
joined Ericsson in 1982 and
has worked in a variety of
technology areas in network
and service architecture
developmentformultimedia-
enabled telecommunication,
targeting both enterprise
and residential users. This
includes the evolution of
mobile telephony to IMS and
VoLTE. In his current role, he
focuses on bringing voice
and other communication
services into 5G, general 5G
evolution and associated
network architecture
evolution. He holds an M.Sc.
in electrical engineering
from KTH Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm,
Sweden.
Jari Vikberg
◆ is a senior expert in
network architecture
and the chief network
architect at CTO office.
He joined Ericsson in
1993 and has both wide
and deep technology
competence covering
network architectures for
all generations of RANs and
CNs. He is also skilled in the
application layer and other
domains, and the impact and
relation these have to mobile
networks. He holds an M.Sc.
in computer science from
the University of Helsinki,
Finland.
Per Willars
◆ is an expert in network
architecture and radio
network functionality at
Business Area Networks.
He joined Ericsson in 1991
and has worked intensively
with RAN issues ever since.
This includes leading the
definition of 3G RAN, before
and within the 3GPP, and
more lately indoor solutions.
He has also worked with
service layer research and
explored new business
models. In his current role, he
analyzes the requirements
for 5G RAN (architecture
and functionality) with the
aim of simplifying 5G. He
holds an M.Sc. in electrical
engineering from KTH Royal
Institute of Technology.

12. ISSN 0014-0171
284 23-3320 | Uen
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