Etisalat Extends Partnership With Ericsson To Enable Its 5G Business Support System

Etisalat, one of the leading telecommunication operators in emerging markets, has selected Ericsson’s (NASDAQ: ERIC) state of the art Charging System and Ericsson’s 5G Business Support Systems (BSS) as part of its national 5G network evolution.

Ericsson Charging will be deployed across Etisalat UAE’s entire network. A dedicated Ericsson Charging and Policy Solution will also be implemented utilizing Ericsson’s cloud-native, micro-services-based Charging Access Function (CAF) which is a new access component within the 5G Service Based Interface (SBI).

Ericsson Charging, a modular, scalable, open, single convergent Online Charging System (OCS) using industry standards and protocols will allow Etisalat users to control their costs through flexible packaging, bonuses and discounts.

The deal is part of a strategic partnership, which will see Ericsson and Etisalat UAE partnering on digital infrastructure to enable 5G use and business cases. 5G offers Etisalat an unprecedented opportunity to monetize new, immersive experiences such as 5G in Gaming, augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) applications, - for example, watching a 360° immersive 4K video on VR goggles – along with other innovations that take advantage of low-latency and ultra-high broadband speeds available with 5G. It will also lay the foundation to enhance Etisalat’s position in the value chain and tap into new revenue streams in a variety of industry vertical use cases from smart manufacturing, smart cities, smart ports and logistics to advanced healthcare applications.

Ali Khalfan Ali Al Shamsi, Vice President, Charging and Fulfillment Operations Etisalat, says: “We are pleased to extend our partnership with Ericsson to provide our charging and 5G Business Support Systems as part of the UAE’s evolution to 5G, which is in line with our overall strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to empower societies’. The cooperation is the latest example of our commitment to continue investing in the most advanced connectivity infrastructure to meet the demanding digitalization ambitions of the UAE.”

Ekow Nelson, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit Etisalat at Ericsson says: “We are pleased to support Etisalat accelerating the launch of 5G services across the UAE leveraging our innovative 5G products and solutions. The addition of charging and BSS to our 5G partnership will enable Etisalat to enhance its position in the value chain and tap into new revenue streams while our flexible charging solution will power a strong user-experience. ”

Ericsson Charging is a scalable, flexible solution with a strong user-experience focus and long-term product road map. It enables real-time convergent charging, policy control, decoupling and fast service creation.