Ericsson expects 5G to outsell 4G next year

The Southern Cone subsidiary of Swedish IT company Ericsson expects a quarter of network and equipment sales to be 5G-related this year.

Next year, 5G sales will surpass 4G ones, independent of expected spectrum auctions, Southern Cone chief Rodrigo Dienstmann told BNamericas.

Latin America is fertile 5G ground for Ericsson as countries that have available spectrum are swiftly advancing deployment. 

"In Brazil, there are coverage obligations, but even so, operators are investing beyond obligations," he said. In Chile, competition spurs investments.

The situation is similar outside the Southern Cone. Ericsson’s head for North and Central America, Chafic Nassif, told BNamericas recently that Mexico "is the most scalable launch in Latin America right now." 

Dienstmann said this deployment speed responds to unserved demand which operators aim to meet through 5G with greater economic and energy efficiency. He also said replacement cycles of mobile devices have shortened, which boosts the 5G base.

In Argentina, Uruguay and Peru, investment appetite is high, he said.

Argentina is reordering and cleaning up spectrum to prepare a 5G auction, which could take place next year.

In Costa Rica, state firm ICE has returned spectrum, ready to be auctioned to private operators within 18 months.

In Colombia, meanwhile, operators and the telecoms industry are developing a 5G roadmap.

PRIVATE NETWORKS

Ericsson is creating 5G private networks together with integrators and operators.

Claro, Embratel and Ericsson collaborated on a private 5G network for food company Nestlé’s Brazil branch. It enables autonomous vehicles, sensors and remote monitoring through virtual reality.

In Argentina, Ericsson is working with companies in the automotive industry, while it evaluates opportunities in Chile’s mining and forestry sectors and targets Argentina’s and Brazil’s agriculture industries.