The Spanish bit of Vodafone has joined its British and German stablemates in picking Ericsson for its standalone 5G core work.

In common with previous announcements this is a ‘precommercial’ thing at this stage, which is presumably somewhere between a trial and the real deal. The announcement says Vodafone Spain has selected Ericsson as its technology partner for the work, which implies exclusivity without explicitly stating it. There’s also the standard talk about how great everything will be once the new core is up and running.

“This pilot is a critical step towards delivering the full potential of 5G service, as well as being crucial in enabling new and innovative use cases,” said Julia Velasco, Network Director, Vodafone Spain. “Thanks to our long-standing and close partnership with Ericsson and the 5G Core SA solution, we can support applications requiring the fastest connectivity, highest data rates and lowest latency demand.”

“After many years of outstanding collaboration between the two companies in the different core technologies now we have moved forward with the introduction of 5G core and we’re continuing to support Vodafone on their digital journey,” said Luisa Muñoz, Head of Digital Services at Ericsson Iberia. “With 5G core SA, we’re taking 5G to the next level in Spain. 5G core is a fundamental piece of the 5G network and I’m looking forward to seeing the multitude of opportunities this will open up for mobile users and industries.”

As you can tell from the canned quotes, the bigger news would have been if Vodafone Spain had gone with anyone else, but the Summer quiet period seems to have already started so we’re reporting it anyway. From a broader perspective it’s good to see so many parts of Europe getting their act together on 5G – we just need to get these pilots done nice and quickly so subscribers can have access to all these great new use cases and opportunities.