Malaysia’s DNB and Ericsson claim RAN software first

Malaysian wholesale 5G provider Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be the first network in Southeast Asia to use Ericsson’s new radio access network (RAN) software solution 5G RedCap, according to the vendor.

Ericsson says it has successfully carried out tests on Malaysia’s 5G network deployed by DNB for the first implementation and validation in Southeast Asia of Ericsson’s pre-commercial Reduced Capability (RedCap) software. The tests were carried out in collaboration with MediaTek, using its 5G RedCap test platform in Malaysia.

Ericsson’s RedCap is a new RAN software solution that enhances existing 5G use cases and enables new ones for devices such as smartwatches, other wearables, and industrial sensors by lowering complexity and extending battery life.

In fact Ericsson goes further, describing RedCap as the next evolution of 5G technology that complements the industry progress of cellular IoT technologies with benefits that include reduced device chipset cost, lower complexity and less power consumption while delivering higher data rates comparable to LTE Cat-1 to LTE Cat-4. Ericsson says it can also support advanced standalone 5G NR functionalities such as enhanced positioning and network slicing.

Ericsson adds that RedCap will allow for the introduction of services beyond enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) on 5G standalone architecture, broadening the ecosystem and offering new monetisation opportunities in both the consumer and industrial spaces.

In addition, the small device size, long battery life, and substantial throughput of devices make it ideal with many mobile consumer applications such as wearables, health monitors and augmented reality (AR) devices as well as industrial applications such as video surveillance and sensors.

For industrial applications, RedCap can, it is claimed, improve operational efficiencies with optimised cost structures, accelerating the industry 4.0 transformation with 5G private networks.

The RedCap tests on the DNB network have been carried out on the time division duplex (TDD) 3500 and frequency division duplex (FDD) 700 layers for both data calls and Voice over New Radio (VoNR), which provides high-definition audio and video for improved user experience.

Ericsson has supplied a number of products and services for the new network since it signed a 10-year partnership with DNB in 2021.