Stockholm, Aug 31 (IANS): Swedish communication technology and services giant Ericsson announed on Wednesday it would launch the worlds first commercial 5G New Radio (NR) incorporating multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology and multi-user MIMO, with the first deployments coming in 2017.

Together with the Ericsson 5G Plug-Ins announced in June this year and its commercially available Radio System Baseband 5216 -- which currently powers Ericsson's award-winning Radio Test Bed -- the company is first to deliver all components of a 5G access network, it said in a statement.

"We are introducing the new hardware that 5G Plug-Ins will run on so that the first operators can start to deploy 5G infrastructure. We are also launching innovations that improve both the performance and efficiency of today's networks using concepts that will evolve into 5G," informed Arun Bansal, Head of Business Unit Network Products, Ericsson.

The "AIR 6468" 5G radio combines advanced antennas with a large number of steerable ports to enable 5G technologies of beamforming, Massive MIMO and multi-user MIMO.

"As we accelerate toward 5G, it's beneficial to have a flexible radio platform that can be deployed not only for LTE, but also versions of future 5G NR standards," said Tom Keathley, Senior Vice President, Wireless Network Architecture and Design, AT&T.

These capabilities improve user experience while enhancing the capacity and coverage of the network and reducing interference. The new radio provides LTE support as well.

"Massive-MIMO, also known as 3D MIMO, is an important milestone in China Mobile's technology roadmap from 4G to 5G. We are happy that Ericsson's new radio product is coming to market soon to meet our needs and enable us to integrate 5G technologies into our existing networks," added Huang Yuhong, Deputy Head, China Mobile Research Institute (CMRI).

To support new network builds, Ericsson has also created the industry's first Industrialised Network Rollout Services solution.