Ericsson and MTN have revealed details of their plan to conduct the first 5G trial in South Africa starting in the first quarter of 2018. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at AfricaCom 2017 to collaborate on the rollout of 5G technologies in South Africa, one of the first in Africa.

Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology and Information Officer, MTN South Africa says 5G presents an invaluable opportunity.

"5G gives us the opportunity to rethink our business and address previously untapped value chains. The new technology opens up new opportunities in new ecosystems."

The two companies say they will collaborate to demonstrate the potential of 5G in South Africa.

Ericsson will provide end-to-end 5G capabilities in support of MTN South Africa's 5G and enterprise monetisation ambitions after which MTN will trial a range of 5G use cases and applications in its Test Bed (laboratory) proof of concept in South Africa, leading to commercial deployment in the future.

The two add that their partnership will help to identify 5G use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industry verticals such as mining, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and utilities.

"In collaboration with Ericsson, we are continuously testing, learning and pushing the boundaries of how 5G can meet the diverse needs of our customers in the future. We're developing 5G technology based on real business needs," adds Chiareli.

Seckin Arikan, Vice President and Head of Global Customer Unit MTN at Ericsson Middle East and Africa says Ericsson has the most signed telecom operator MoUs in the industry in addition to having become the first to launch a 5G initiative with MTN in Africa.

"This supports our strategy of delivering next-generation mobile broadband, cloud and providing support for massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment. This initiative also enables new industry use cases thanks to increased throughput and reduced latency," concluded Arikan.