Ericsson and its partner Proptivity have rolled out a neutral host in-building wireless system, which uses Ericsson’s Dot Radio System, in a central Stockholm property housing a shopping mall and offices.
Shopping malls have challenges providing connectivity to all visitors regardless of their communications service provider, without high-cost distributed antenna systems. The network from Ericsson and Proptivity promises to be a multi-operator, multi-vendor mobile solution that can be used free of charge by carriers.
“This milestone with Proptivity using Ericsson’s indoor 5G network solution marks a shift towards a new business model in the indoor space, with neutral hosts and enterprises increasingly taking the helm when it comes to indoor 5G deployments,” said David Hammarwall, Head of Product Area Networks, Ericsson.
Proptivity was founded to deliver the indoor 5G infrastructure-as-a-service in the Nordic and Baltic countries to meet the connectivity needs of real estate owners. It has an initial plan to invest $280 million in Nordic properties’ 5G infrastructure.
The network was launched in partnership with the owner of the mall, Fastpartner, which is a listed Swedish real estate company that owns, manages, and develops commercial properties. The first carrier to connect to the shared indoor network was 3 Sweden.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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