Ericsson announced that Far EasTone (FET), a leading operator from Taiwan, has become the latest company signing up for Ericsson Startup 5G program, which is designed to help communication service providers (CSPs) capture the consumer potential of 5G. FET is the first CSP in Northeast Asia to enroll in the program, joining a lineup of word-leading operators such as AT&T, Telstra, and Rogers, to name a few.

Through a curated network of more than 40 startups worldwide, the Ericsson Startup 5G program aims to help CSPs accelerate commercialization and monetization of 5G. The program is driven by the Ericsson ConsumerLab to foster innovation and collaboration across the 5G ecosystem, plugging into a wide range of sectors, including entertainment, education, gaming, sports, and social media. Bolstered by ConsumerLab’s 25 years of research on consumer behavior, insights and trends that impact the ICT industry, the program will also assist CSPs in developing go-to-market strategies while introducing the right partners to enable innovative services.

With the ambition to maximize value for 5G users, FET has invested heavily in developing new value-added services within its 5G offering, including the recently announced 5G Metaverse Accelerator aiming to deepen the collaboration with local Taiwanese startups. On the other hand, the Ericsson Startup 5G program will allow FET to access a roster of worldwide startups to further amplify 5G use cases to drive substantial 5G uptake.

Chee Ching, President of Far EasTone Telecommunications, says: “With our solid partnership with Ericsson and leveraging advanced technologies such as Big data, AI, and IoT, we have established the world number one 5G network which offers the best performance and optimal experiences to our users. This lays a great foundation to build more social and immersive experiences utilizing AR and VR technologies that will eventually lead us to realize the Metaverse. I believe the Ericsson Startup 5G program will create a great synergy with the FET Metaverse Accelerator to develop more tangible 5G use cases that will transform people’s lives.”

Jasmeet Sethi, Head of ConsumerLab, Ericsson Research, says: “Our program aims to accelerate 5G innovation to open up a whole new world of advanced digital experiences for consumers in Taiwan. Our partnership with Far EasTone will continue to build on years of knowledge at ConsumerLab on consumer needs and a strong global startup partner ecosystem. We are eagerly looking forward to seeing the future unfold as we work together to define what the 5G powered metaverse can be." A global 5G consumer study conducted by ConsumerLab, representing opinions equivalent to 1.3 billion consumers and 220 million 5G users, showed that around 70 percent of 5G early adopters are looking for more innovative services. In Taiwan, the number is even higher with 74 percent. Consequently, Taiwanese consumers are willing to pay up to 40 percent premium for 5G plans with bundled digital services, compared to a global average of 20-30 percent and just 10 percent for 5G connectivity.

“Bringing FET to the Ericsson Startup 5G program opens a new chapter in our long-term partnership,” said David Chou, President of Ericsson Taiwan. “FET has been a trailblazer in innovating 5G services on top of a superior network with our joint efforts. This constructive collaboration will further enable more promising consumer applications with differentiated services for Taiwan and to unlock the full potential of 5G. In the meantime, we look forward to connecting Taiwanese startups to an array of worldwide operators to accelerate 5G adoption within the ecosystem.”