Swisscom said that it will launch two new access technologies for the Internet of Things next year – Narrow Band-IoT and LTE Cat-M1, complimenting its existing low power network (LPN).
The technologies are based on the 3GPP standard and are compatible with 4G and 5G. Initial tests with pilot customers will be carried out before the end of 2017. The commercial launch is scheduled for 2018.
Swisscom said it is intentionally focusing on a technology mix for the Internet of Things. This will allow it to provide its customers with an optimal communications infrastructure for every application scenario.
At the same time, Swisscom is planning to carry out field trials on network slicing in 2018. This will enable individual 5G and 4G applications to be allocated guaranteed network resources in future. Swisscom is also testing 5G speeds in a test environment for the first time in Zurich with the technology from Ericsson that provides transmission capacity of over 20 Gbit/s in a radio cell.
Heinz Herren, CIO and CTO, Swisscom
Swisscom is making targeted investment in the development of 5G to ensure we continue to provide our customers with the best mobile communications experience in Switzerland in future. We are already the first provider in Switzerland to present 5G applications with our partner Ericsson. They establish the foundation for the further digitisation of Switzerland.
