The Baltic telecommunications and media group Bitė Group and Ericsson have signed a frame agreement for the introduction of 5G technology in Lithuania and Latvia, providing 5G network coverage in the most populated cities and districts with plans of expanding customer services within media entertainment and gaming, cloud, data centers and IoT.
Spanning from 2022 to 2028, Ericsson will be sole provider of nationwide Radio Access Network (RAN) and will continue to provide core technology, for modernization and expansion to Bitė Group in both countries. This will enable Bitė Group to provide superior 5G network experiences to its current customers, while developing new offerings to reach a wider target group.
Pranas Kuisys, CEO, Bitė Group Lithuania says: “Our 5G will enable even faster and more reliable home internet and new generation home TV services. We’re already the leaders of the mobile broadband internet today, but our 5G will allow us to challenge any fixed internet and TV provider. We will expand our IT services offering too – from office internet to cloud and data centers. 5G will accelerate the development of IoT and smart cities solutions as well, where Bitė Group stands as an unequivocal leader already.”
Bitė Group’s 5G will bring new opportunities and spark innovation in industry fields such as agriculture, health, transportation, manufacturing and ports. Research from Analysys Mason for Ericsson shows that new use cases enabled by 5G´s unique capabilities can deliver economic growth of €251bn in Europe.
Kaspars Buls, CEO, of Bitė Group Latvia says: “Besides improving home internet, entertainment gaming services – 5G will play a broader, economic role. The 5G deployment will result in increased efficiency, upgrading services and bring whole new solutions and products. Our services even have the power to transform industries, giving a boost to our economy.
Jenny Lindqvist, Head of Northern and Central Europe, Ericsson says: “Together with Bitė Group, we bring high speed, resilient 5G connectivity to people and businesses in Latvia and Lithuania. The uptake of 5G here will most likely, as we have seen in other countries, be faster than any previous generation of mobile technology. 5G opens a new world of innovative possibilities that will integrate seamlessly into industries and enable completely transformed services and new experiences to consumers.”
