Ericsson and its partner Proptivity have rolled out the world’s first neutral host-led shared indoor 5G radio access network (RAN) powered by the Radio Dot System in a central Stockholm property housing a flagship shopping mall and office tenants.

With this indoor 5G connectivity, visitors and employees can now enjoy download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps anywhere in the building, even during peak hours.

Shopping malls are busy public spaces that pose connectivity challenges, like ensuring all end users in the indoor space receive the same quality of service, regardless of their communications service provider. This is where the strategic partnership between Ericsson and Proptivity comes in, enabling a neutral host-led indoor 5G network that delivers multi-operator, multi-vendor mobile solutions for high-performing indoor networks with lower cost per gigabyte than legacy solutions.

David Hammarwall, Head of Product Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “This milestone with Proptivity using Ericsson’s indoor 5G network solution marks a shift towards a new business model in the indoor space, with neutral hosts and enterprises increasingly taking the helm when it comes to indoor 5G deployments. This development underlines the growing demand for high-performing indoor 5G inside, as well as outdoors.”

The easy-to-deploy indoor 5G small cell solution – Ericsson’s Radio Dot System – minimizes disruption to building infrastructure and operations with fast, IT-like installation and compact components. Key products include the Indoor Radio Unit 8848 and Radio Dot 4453. The shareable solution is also highly energy-efficient, lowering power consumption and equipment footprint by up to 70 and 80 percent respectively, both important criteria for property owners, compared to legacy distributed antenna systems (DAS).

Owned and managed by building owner Fastpartner, the solution is now live at their premier property in Östermalmstorg, in central Stockholm. This equips retail tenants like Åhlens with the capacity they need to provide shoppers with a superior, seamless mobile experience while supporting the growing demand for data that future 5G use cases, such as augmented reality shopping, require.

Mikael Lundman, CEO of Proptivity, says: “Fastpartner aims to deliver superior digital experiences to their tenants and is a clear frontrunner in the real estate market when it comes to indoor connectivity. Together with Ericsson, we’ve developed an indoor 5G solution that meets their requirements for a future-proof network infrastructure that can be leveraged by all mobile operators to provide tenants with an amazing 5G experience, regardless of what mobile operator the current or future tenants are using.”

Christopher Johansson, Deputy CEO of Fastpartner, says: “We see 5G as a key innovation platform for our tenants and for our own continued digitalization. It will likely create many opportunities that we cannot even see today. We have chosen to work with Proptivity as they offer a strong 5G solution together with Ericsson that meets our needs from a technical perspective, as well as a simple business model that we believe in.”

Ayad Al Saffar, CEO of Åhlens, says: “Åhlens wants to be in the forefront of shopping, online as well as physically. Our customers already expect to use their phones when in our stores, and we see many future opportunities to increase both customer engagement and sales by making phones a more integral part of a successful purchase experience. We welcome all 3 Sweden users to visit Åhlens in our property on Östermalmstorg 1, Stockholm, to experience a true indoor 5G service, and hopefully customers with other operators in the future, too.”

By connecting to the indoor network, service providers can also easily extend their footprint without additional capital investments. Local operator, 3 Sweden, is the first service provider to connect to the shared indoor 5G network.

Haval van Drumpt, CEO of 3 Sweden, says: “We’re very excited to be the first operator to connect to this pioneering indoor network. By embracing innovative business models and high-performing solutions that enable network sharing, like the Ericsson Radio Dot System, the telecoms industry can provide commercial buildings with high-capacity indoor 5G more easily and ramp up Sweden’s digitalization faster.”

Other tenants and companies based in the building will also benefit from the high-performing indoor 5G network. Enterprise tenants can provide customers and staff with seamless, secure connectivity without the need for Wi-Fi logins. Offices can also poise themselves to support future workplace connectivity needs, for example, high-speed internet for 5G laptops.