Ericsson joins top global players to drive LTE Broadcast at Mobile World Congress 2015

• Leading mobile operators, content providers and device vendors to share best practices at LTE Broadcast User Group meeting at MWC 2015
• Ericsson joins Facebook, the GSA, the GSMA, INDYCAR, Intel, KPN, Qualcomm Technologies, Telstra and Verizon, among participating companies
• Ericsson to showcase a number of LTE Broadcast live demos with new use cases and functionalities, along with ecosystem partners

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is to join with leading mobile operators, content providers and device manufacturers to share best practices in LTE Broadcast. Ericsson will team up with companies including Facebook, the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association), the GSMA, INDYCAR, Intel, KPN, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, Telstra and Verizon, to convene an LTE Broadcast User Group at Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona.

The group will act as a forum for the exchange of experiences and best practices on the establishment and operation of LTE Broadcast services. The intention is to promote the use of LTE Broadcast more widely in the industry and to catalyze the development of an ecosystem around the service.

Mobile video traffic is growing rapidly and expected to make up 55 percent of all mobile data traffic by 2020. LTE Broadcast is attracting significant and growing industry traction as a method for making the best use of existing network resources and available spectrum to introduce new video services and reduce the strain on the network.

Mobile operators and service and content providers can benefit from new revenue opportunities, service differentiation and more efficient distribution of popular media content sought by multiple subscribers. A large number of trials and field deployments worldwide have already proven the viability of the technology and demonstrated new use cases and business models.

Dan Warren, Senior Director of Technology, GSMA, says: "The principal objective of the User Group is to share the best practices that will spur industry growth and widespread adoption as we enter a new era of personalized media content. Users want anytime, anywhere, any device access to their media and entertainment and LTE Broadcast can be a key technology to enable delivery of popular content in an optimal way. It can relieve some of the heavy traffic burden that operators would otherwise have to support."

Alan Hadden, VP of Research, GSA, says: "The combination of expanding global LTE coverage, assisted by deployments in lower bands including APT700, falling terminal costs and LTE Broadcast technology will extend education, health and other public service programs to billions of citizens, for which GSA encourages device ecosystems to be developed."

Thomas Norén, VP and Head of Product Area Radio, Ericsson, says: "Ericsson has been at the forefront of developing and implementing LTE Broadcast technology around the world.  This technology has great potential to grow much further, with more use cases such as TV Services, Cached Media, Software Updates including application updates, Connected Car, Digital Signage and Public Safety.  Together with leading industry partners in ecosystem development, we can spur the big business opportunity for the industry and promote the use of the technology more widely."

The LTE Broadcast User Group meeting is an invitation-only event, taking place at the Ericsson stand (Hall 2) at Mobile World Congress, Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, on Monday, March 2.

Highlights include a presentation by Facebook of their perspectives and use case of LTE Broadcast to deliver App updates to reach billions of users worldwide in a highly efficient manner. 

The user group is expected to identify areas of collaborative action to promote wide adoption of LTE Broadcast as a key component of LTE network strategy.
In conjunction with the User Group meeting, Ericsson will showcase a number of LTE Broadcast live demos, along with ecosystem partners, including: 

• Public Safety with LTE Broadcast - with Motorola and Qualcomm Technologies
• LTE Broadcast for Software Updates - with Facebook and Qualcomm Technologies
• LTE Broadcast on TDD -  with Intel
• LTE Broadcast on Set-Top Box - with Technicolor and Qualcomm Technologies
• Dynamic switching between unicast and broadcast
• Growing ecosystem of commercial devices, dongles, and set-top boxes supporting LTE Broadcast

Ericsson at Mobile World Congress 2015
During Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Ericsson is showing world-leading technology, service capabilities, and innovations. The Networked Society is transforming entire industries. ICT tools have become fundamental everyday resources for businesses, people and society. We lead the way with hardware, services and software solutions that drive development in mobility, broadband and cloud, creating the foundation for new eco-systems, and transformation across industries. The change that transformation brings is in the hands of everyone. That is why we at Mobile World Congress this year will talk about how we enable change-makers in the Networked Society to advance digital experiences.

You can find us at MWC in Hall 2, Stand 2N60. Follow us during the event using @Ericsson and join the discussion using #MWC15. Insights from our experts and Networked Society evangelists are also published on our blog during the event.
 
NOTES TO EDITORS
Ericsson 2020 TV vision takes center stage at IBC 2014
Ericsson and Polkomtel test LTE Broadcast in Poland
Verizon and Ericsson take pole position at Indy 500 with LTE Multicast
First live LTE broadcast trial in the Netherlands
 
Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at www.ericsson.com/press

Ericsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society - a world leader in communications technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, business and society to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.

Our services, software and infrastructure - especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud - are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.

With approximately 115,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world's mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and development ensure that our solutions - and our customers - stay in front.

Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2014 were SEK 228.0 billion (USD 33.1 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.

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