Partner Featured: Five years after its 5G launch, Switzerland-based Sunrise begins its journey to 5.5G deployment with enhanced enterprise capabilities to customize networks for any business case and support a diverse customer base. We want to be able to better respond to your needs.
Speaking at Huawei’s 5G Beyond Growth Summit held at MWC Barcelona 2024, Alexander Lehmann, Sunrise’s Senior Director of Innovation & Development, detailed the company’s 5G innovation efforts.
The company achieved 1.4 million 5G connections at the end of 2023, a 40% year-over-year increase. Furthermore, Swiss Mobile’s nearly 30% of its total traffic is running on its 5G network. He pointed out that this number is trending even higher because it is more efficient to run traffic on 5G networks.
The company’s revenue mix is diversified, with mobile accounting for 41% of total sales of CHF 3 billion, consumer fixed-line communications accounting for 38% and B2B accounting for 19%.
The road to 5.5G
The carrier was one of the first in the world to launch 5G services in 2019. Download speeds average 1.8 Gbps and upload speeds 111 Mbps.
“We are now able to conduct POCs on two prototypes and demonstrate what it means to be fully 5G-enabled.”
He also expressed his excitement about 5.5G and all the new features it brings, including reduced functionality (RedCap) and passive IoT, in addition to the 10x improvement in coverage.
“There are many use cases that 5G hasn’t reached yet, such as logistics, warehouses, and factories. This is where 5.5G comes in and will propel us into other areas.”
As customer demands continue to evolve, personalized user experiences, versatile business models, and scalable industrial applications are all key to success. “To meet these demands, digital infrastructure must constantly evolve. 5.5G has the potential to address these needs and will pave the way for 5G’s continued success. It’s helpful.”
Mobile private network options
Regarding existing 5G networks, Lehrmann argued that mobile private networks have significant advantages in providing enterprises with high data rates, low latency, and large-scale IoT connectivity. It also offers clients three models for deploying these mobile private networks: sliced public networks, dedicated private networks, and a hybrid of the two.
He noted that the company’s experience shows that business customers want to increase efficiency and reduce costs and risks while increasing sales. Customers come to Sunrise with specific objectives such as business growth, cost reduction, business model change, and innovation.
collaborative innovation
The carrier aims to address these needs by working across three key areas: use cases, technologies, and specific industries with the 5G joint innovation hub it has established in Zurich in collaboration with Huawei. he said.
“Customers want to know what they can get from 5G, especially when you combine it with other emerging technologies such as IoT, virtual reality, digital twins, and AI. We want to understand how it will be enhanced and how 5G will drive IoT.”
Mr. Rehman explained how the 5G Joint Innovation Hub will help customers and other partners understand 5G technology by demonstrating its capabilities. “The 5G Joint Innovation Hub is the driving force that not only addresses sales enablement and drives important projects, but also injects an innovative spirit into our brands.”
One of the company’s recent achievements is a proof-of-concept demo of an autonomous retail store with no staff. This allows Sunrise customers to pick up their items, walk out of the store, and be automatically charged. This Grab-and-Go concept store is equipped with a hybrid private mobile network, with less than 20ms latency between land-based cameras and app servers, and guaranteed upload bandwidth.
Another innovation is a 5G livestreaming broadcast package that uses a private mobile network slice on a public network. This setup significantly reduces costs and increases convenience for camera operators by eliminating the need for cables and heavy satellite equipment. All you need is a camera and a SIM card.
Late last year, Sunrise trialled a sub-6GHz prototype at its 5G Joint Innovation Hub, achieving peak download speeds of 10 Gbps.
