Ericsson’s having a good day, adding a 5G win with Bell Canada

Swedish kit vendor Ericsson has celebrated two 5G deal wins today, with the latest indicating it took some share from rivals Nokia and Huawei.

There isn’t much detail other than the fact that Ericsson will be one of the 5G RAN partners for Bell Canada. This apparently builds on their existing partnership, which included some 4G provision, but the canned quote from Niklas Heuveldop, Head of Ericsson North America, indicates the vendor may have a bit more of the action in this deal.

“We are proud to have earned Bell’s trust to be selected as one of their key partners and significantly expand our existing relationship to accelerate the transformation of their network with 5G mobile and fixed wireless technology,” said Heuveldop. “With our industry-leading 5G product portfolio, Bell will be able to provide Canadian consumers, enterprises and the public sector with innovative experiences and services whether they are on the move or at home, regardless if they are in urban or rural areas.”

“Bell’s 5G strategy supports our goal to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world, and Ericsson’s innovative 5G network products and experience on the global stage will be key to our rollout of this game-changing mobile technology across Canada,” said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada.

“Investment and scale in leading-edge networks is critical to national competitiveness, economic growth and resiliency, highlighted by the important role that Bell’s wireless, fibre and broadcast networks have played in Canada’s response to COVID-19. With the support of Ericsson and our other 5G partners, Bell looks forward to ensuring Canada remains at the forefront of the next generation of mobile communications.”

Earlier today we reported that Ericsson had scored some 5G core action with Telefónica Deutschland. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal seems to have decided that Ericsson is the 5G leader, thanks in part to US victimization of Huawei. So on the whole it has been a pretty good day for Ericsson and we’d say the drinks are on them. Mine’s an aquavit, Börje.

UPDATE – 19:00, 2/6/20: We asked Ericsson if this contract significantly expands its market share with Bell compared to 4G and they confirmed that it does, but were unable to provide specific percentages.