Cisco, Ericsson Partner to Create ‘Networks of the Future’

Cisco Systems and Swedish telecom giant Ericsson announced a sweeping global partnership Monday that’s a few steps short of a merger, but which should shake up the networking industry with a powerful new combination. The two companies said they were joining forces to create networks of the future. The pooling of the two companies’ research and development teams could accelerate the introduction of faster mobile devices through 5G, the next phase of mobile telecommunications. The higher speeds of 5G will provide wireless connections for many new applications, including wearables, smart homes and traffic safety, and will be a key component of the “networked society,” according to Ericsson’s research blog.