UK-based telecom operator BT is joining the 5G race. Ericsson is the technology partner to conduct 5G testing and development.

Ericsson and BT have tied up with university research partner King’s College London for a multi-year collaboration agreement. King’s College contributes with low-latency use cases and knowledge in communication technologies, robotics and haptic control.

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The agreement on 5G technology will focus on creating 5G use cases in commercial and consumer markets, with particular focus on mission-critical services such as medical applications. It will involve research into the technical and economic aspects of key 5G-enabling technologies.

BT aims to become the first telecom operator to launch 5G services in the UK. BT has worked with Ericsson to build a 5G Proof of Concept Center at the BT Labs in Adastral Park, Ipswich. With access to the 5G for Europe core network – linking multiple centers and universities across Europe – Ericsson and BT are testing the network architecture to efficiently deliver commercial 5G services.

BT Group CIO Howard Watson said the initial focus of the collaboration is on Proof of Concept solutions and trials of services needing both high availability and low latency – both key features of the forthcoming 5G technology.

BT, which purchased 4G operator EE, will build on existing infrastructure to create a converged fixed and mobile network for 5G.

“By establishing network slices in the context of 5G will be like virtual networks on-demand, and will be crucial for the mission-critical services being trialed,” said Anders Lindblad, head of Business Unit IT & Cloud Products at Ericsson.