Case study

Award-winning
5G innovation
In pursuit of 5G revenue
opportunities with Optus
down underEricsson and Optus: Award-winning innovation

2Award-winning 5G innovation
In pursuit of 5G revenue opportunities with Optus

Executive summary
In November 2019, Optus launched Australia's first 5G Fixed Wireless Access services,
followed shortly thereafter by enhanced Mobile Broadband. Since the launch, theagile service provider has innovated fast – together with Ericsson – to deliver the next
generation of connectivity services to Australian consumers and enterprises throughworld-leading technologies.

Across Sydney and Melbourne today,Optus delivers ultra-high-speed 5G where
Australian consumers can experience the full
benefits of 5G connectivity, with use casessuch as 4K video streaming on-the-go, realtime augmented- and virtual reality andultra-low-latency 5G mobile gaming.
Through joint innovation, Ericsson issupporting Optus to realize its key strategic
5G business goals: "Our ambition is todeliver Australia's fastest 5G network,"says Lambo Kanagaratnam, Managing
Director, Optus Networks, "and to win thatrace we need to be agile, innovative, andrelentless in delivering new technology
milestones to our customers. Thanks to ourtechnology partnerships both with Ericsson
and the wider 5G ecosystem, we remain at
the forefront of tech delivering Innovative
solutions that our customers love.
"One recent example of this continuousinnovation, together with Ericsson, inNovember 2020 we set a new speed recordin Sydney and Melbourne and became thefirst mobile operator in the world to rollout full commercial 5G TDD-TDD carrier
aggregation. This exciting milestone ispaving the way for Australians to be among

the first to experience the full power of5G, with commercial speeds in excess of2.5Gbps".
Co-innovating with the 5G tech ecosystem
Ericsson is supporting Optus to ideate,
prototype, stage and test new technologies
for Australian consumers and enterprises
together with the broader 5G ecosystem.
This has resulted in innovation suchas Australia's first 5G drone flight, andtechnology milestones including a 5G data
call over 2300MHz spectrum, a 2300MHz
and 3500MHz dual band 5G network, a 5G
TDD-TDD Carrier Aggregation call and lowband coexistence of narrow band IoT and4G/5G through Ericsson Spectrum Sharing(ESS).
To develop the value of these innovations
into commercial opportunities, Optus
has three dedicated innovation hubs: theFutureNow enterprise hub, the Sydneybased start-up lab and Australia's first fullydedicated 5G lab. Ericsson is collaboratingwith Optus' Innovation Team to explore andshowcase immersive 5G use-cases as part oftheir 5G consumer initiatives. Ericsson is also
supporting Optus to capture new enterprise

Case study:
Optus
Industry:
Telecommunications• 	
Subsidiary of the internationalSingtel Group• Over 8300 network sites nationwide•	Over 1300 5G sites•	Over 10 million customers acrossmobile and fixed networks•	Market-first launch of 5G Fixed
Wireless Access in November 2019•	 Over 1 million households coveredby Optus 5G Home Internet•	 Over one million 5G devices on its
network

Ericsson and Optus
Ericsson and Optus have recently
received industry accolades forthe businesses' co-innovation andcollaboration including such as theGTI Innovative Breakthrough Mobile
Technology award and the WCA
Access Innovation award for the dualband 5G network.
Today, Ericsson carries the majorityof Optus' 5G Radio Access Network(RAN) traffic through its leading
Ericsson Radio System portfolio inaddition to other software features
such as Ericsson Spectrum Sharingand Ericsson Carrier Aggregation.
Ericsson also provides the backbone
for Optus' 5G network through Ericsson
cloud-native dual-mode 5G Core andis working closely with the service
provider as it prepares to unleash
the new revenue opportunities of 5G
standalone network.

Ericsson and Optus: Award-winning innovation3

New revenue
opportunities in the5G home market
One segment where Optus has beenquick to establish a strong market
position is 5G Fixed Wireless Access(FWA). In November 2019, Optus
launched Australia's first 5G FWA
services in 3500MHz spectrum. Today,
more than one million Australianhouseholds have access to Optus 5G
Home Internet.
5G FWA and enhanced Mobile
Broadband (eMBB) provide a valuable
alternative to traditional fixed-, cableand fiber connectivity solutions –offering a faster time to market, better
return on investment and an overall
more sustainable solution. By 2025,
the number of FWA connections
are forecast to increase threefold
worldwide – delivering substantialrevenue opportunities for service
providers across household- andsmall- to medium enterprise market
segments.
" We are committed to connecting
our customers with innovativetechnology that improves their lives,"
says Lambo Kanagaratnam. "Our
Optus 5G Home Internet helps us todeliver on that vision. With increased
throughput, faster downlink speeds
and lower latency, 5G FWA not only
makes it possible for us to solve
traditional 'last mile' challenges –meaning that we can connect more
homes and businesses than everbefore – but it is simple to install andprovides lightening fast speeds.
"When we first launched 5G, wereally invested in creating market
differentiation with our FWA service –because we knew that our customers
would truly love and benefit from thisproduct."
To be first in the market to FWA
required fast and wide deploymentof high capacity 5G-ready RAN. To
support Optus in this mission, Ericsson
deployed its modular and 5G-readyEricsson Radio System (ERS) as anoverlay network on top of Optus'
existing multi-vendor LTE networks.
Today, as Optus looks to deliver evengreater network performance, Ericssonand Optus are rolling out ERS deeper
across the full network stack.

opportunities directly on-site with customers
through 5G Genie – a portable 5G-in-a-box
solution developed together with parent
company Singtel.
Opening new 5G revenue segments
through innovation
Optus' continuous pursuit to improve
the radio network is driven not only bya commitment to deliver a world-classnetwork experience to its customers, but toprovide a mechanism to monetize new 5G
consumer segments such as 5G home, 5G
gaming and 5G entertainment services.
"Optus' innovation mindset isunderpinned by a strong culture of agility
and the willingness to take qualified risks,"
says Martin Wiktorin, Head of Global
Customer Unit Singtel at Ericsson. "5G
introduces a new ecosystem and a different
way of working. Optus is showing that,by being innovative and creating key
partnerships within the ecosystem, service
providers can secure a significant market
share in early 5G monetization markets."

5G Metro > 3 Gbps

Four firsts which createa pathway into emerging
5G markets
1. Market-first 5G drone flight
In November 2019, Optus and Ericssonteamed up to demonstrate Australia's
first teleoperated drone flight on a live
5G network via an edge cloud. The test
showcased not only the high-reliability
and low-latency power of 5G networks, butalso the technological opportunities that
arrive with the ability to run applications
directly from the edge cloud – in this case,processing video via an edge-cloud graphics
engine to enable beyond-visual-line-of-sightdrone control.
2.	Dual-band 5G and 5G data call over
2300MHz spectrum
In December 2019, Optus and Ericsson
became the first in the world to run anend-to-end 5G data call over 2300MHz

5G RuralOptus makes
smart, efficientuse of its available
spectrum thanks toEricsson Spectrum
Sharing and Carrier
Aggregation;mmWave assets
not included in thisdiagram

1.5 Gbps

[MHz]

4G/5G
aggregation

3600

5G

2300

5G

2300

4G

5G

2600

4G

4G

2100

4G / 5G

4G / 5G

1800

4G

4G

900

3G / 4G

3G / 4G700

4G / 5G

4G / 5G

EricssonSpectrum
Sharing

EricssonSpectrum
SharingEricsson and Optus: Award-winning innovation

4mmWave will unlock a plethora ofinnovative use casesmmWave delivers large
quantities of spectrum andcapacity over the shortest
distances. They also use massive
MIMO to expand capacity andextend coverage. Moreover, they
include wide spectrum segments
available for 5G along with lower
latencies.

Video streaming
and broadcast

Everywhere
AR/VR

Crowded area
capacity

Enhanced
FWA

mmWave can help meet theincreased global demands forhigh-quality connectivity andfacilitate exciting new use cases.
Smartfactories

spectrum. This paved the way for anothermilestone, this time the delivery of dual band
5G services on 2300MHz and 3500MHz
spectrum, enabling significantly easierand more flexible deployment options andoffering potentially double the speed andgreater coverage depths.
Today, Optus deploys Ericsson dualband Massive MIMO to support both
frequency bands in the same active antenna
system (AAS), with its new compact design
techniques to ensure sufficient antenna
isolation and easier deployment.
3.	New 5G speed record with 5G
Ericsson Carrier Aggregation call
In November 2020, Optus, Ericsson andSamsung set a new Australian commercial
5G speed record with a world-firstcommercial demonstration of Ericsson
Carrier Aggregation on TDD 2300MHz and3500MHz spectrum bands. In doing so, thepartners demonstrated the power of carrier
aggregation in both extending coverageand increasing peak rates – in this instancereaching record-breaking downlink speedsof more than 2.5Gbps in the live network.
Optus, with one of the most advanced
portfolios of TDD spectrum in the region,
has since rolled out carrier aggregation toincrease peak rates at its ultra-high-speed
5G sites, including high-density 5G Homemarkets.
In March 2021, Optus and Ericsson
collaborated to demonstrate another carrier
aggregation milestone, this time aggregating

Street macroapplications

Mid band FDD (frequency division duplex,2100 MHz) with mid-band TDD to deliver
improved network performance, enable
faster data speeds, extend TDD 5G coverage
and allow for simultaneous use of both 4G
and 5G services.
4. Multi-technology on 700MHz spectrum
sharing
In June 2021, Optus and Ericsson teamed
up to deliver the coexistence of narrow band
IoT (NBIoT) and 4G and 5G services throughEricsson Spectrum Sharing on the low band
700MHz spectrum layer.
By introducing 5G on the same low band
frequency as 4G and NBIoT, the partners
demonstrated that it is possible to maintainthe same excellent network experience for
4G and NBIoT carriers, while quickly andsimultaneously extending the reach of 5G
coverage both indoors and outdoors.

The next steps in network
innovation
Unlocking future 5G with mmWave
In April 2021, Optus acquired spectrum inthe 26 Ghz millimeter wave (mmWave)
range which will be key to delivering evenfaster and lower latency connectivity toAustralian consumers and enterprises. With
mmWave technology, Optus will have evenmore expansive connectivity experiencessuch as high-definition simultaneous
streaming, augmented and virtual reality,"5G has the potential to impact manyindustry verticals, and cross-sectoral
partnerships will be the foundationalbuilding blocks to develop thoseuse cases. Today, we are exploring
many ongoing projects with key
industrial partners which we are very
excited about. It's an exciting time forAustralian industry.”

Lambo
Kanagaratnam
Managing Director
Optus Networks

next generation cloud gaming services
and massive simultaneous connectivity attransport hubs and major events.
"We're only at the beginning of our 5G
mmWave rollout and are actively testing Itscapabilities. To date, these tests have shownhow mmWave spectrum, integrated into
existing 4G and 5G sites, has the capability
to significantly boost overall site capacity– which will be a gamechanger for ourcustomers,” said Lambo Kanagaratnam,
Managing Director, Optus Networks.
The road to 5G standalone
In May 2021, Optus hit another technology
milestone together with Ericsson and OPPO
when it successfully completed its a voice
call over a 5G standalone network. The trial,
which demonstrated the ability to serveboth voice and data services simultaneously,
delivered an early breakthrough for new
immersive video and interactive calling
services across Australia, with voice over
new radio (VoNR) also in the pipeline.
Today, Optus is engaging several key
technology partners to help differentiate its
customer offerings and take full advantage
of upcoming 5G standalone opportunities,
including industry verticals such as
warehousing, logistics, retail and factories.
Among other benefits, 5G standalonewill enable Optus to deliver an enhanceduser experience to its customers, increase
service creation agility for new innovative
applications and improve overall network
capabilities.

Ericsson and Optus: Award-winning innovation

5About Optus

Optus is a leading Australian technology andtelecommunications company providing customers withmore than 11 million services across Australia each day.
With more than 7000 employees across Australia, Optus
delivers a comprehensive range of telecommunications
products including: mobile and fixed line telephony; fixedand mobile broadband services; multimediaentertainment and technology services; satellite services;and converged business telecommunications applications
and solutions.

About Ericsson

Ericsson enables communications service providers tocapture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services,and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation havedelivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband
to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock islisted on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York.
www.ericsson.com© Ericsson 2021

The content of this document is subject torevision without notice due to continued
progress in methodology, design andmanufacturing. Ericsson shall have no liability
for any error or damage of any kind resulting
from the use of this document.

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Telephone +46 10 719 00 00
July 2021, Rev. 1