Ericsson refines its private-wireless sales pitch

Ericsson on Tuesday announced its new “Private 5G” offering. The company said the service “optimizes and simplifies business operations with cloud-based network management, keeps sensitive data on-premise, has zero downtime upgrades and guarantees high performance through Service-Level Agreements (SLAs).” The company added that the new product will initially be targeted at such industries as manufacturing, mining, utilities, ports and airports.

Thomas Noren, a longtime Ericsson veteran who previously served as Ericsson’s head of 5G commercialization, will lead the business.

To be clear, Ericsson has been selling equipment and services for private wireless networks for several years now. For example, the company announced a major 4G private wireless network deployment for aerospace giant Airbus just a few months ago. And “dedicated networks” was one of the key reasons cited by Ericsson in its $1.1 billion acquisition of Cradlepoint last year.

But Ericsson’s new “Private 5G” offering both streamlines the company’s portfolio in the sector and positions Ericsson to sell products and services directly to enterprises (as Nokia does) in addition to its traditional network operator customers.

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