PLANO, Texas – Ericsson will provide Nex-Tech Wireless, a Kansas-based wireless carrier, 5G technology in order to help bridge the digital divide. Under the agreement, Ericsson will provide 5G Evolved Packet Core and Radio Access Network (RAN) supporting 5G NR Non-standalone (NSA) in key sites in Nex-Tech Wireless' coverage areas in Kansas.

To assist Nex-Tech Wireless in bridging the digital divide, Ericsson's 5G EPC and RAN enhancements will future proof existing customer core assets via software updates in order to enable support for new use cases that require improved latency and data throughput guarantees. In addition, Nex-Tech Wireless will be implementing Ericsson Spectrum Sharing technology, which will allow the carrier to allocate spectrum assets efficiently based on traffic demand using existing infrastructure – enabling a smoother transition to 5G.

Nex-Tech Wireless and Ericsson also signed a deal in September 2019 to roll out 600 MHz 5G capabilities in key markets. The previous deal allowed Nex-Tech Wireless to provide Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling services utilizing Ericsson's cloud-based IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution.

Nex-Tech Wireless expects to launch their 5G service by the third quarter of 2020.

Ericsson