AT&T inked a five-year contract with Ericsson covering 5G network equipment for the operator’s C-Band spectrum, confirming a long-standing relationship with the vendor will continue in its mid-band move.

Ericsson explained in a statement the deal includes its advanced antenna system, carrier aggregation (CA) technologies and advanced RAN coordination software.

AT&T spent more than $23 billion on C-Band licences and is using the spectrum to support its deployment of standalone (SA) 5G.

Ericsson stated use of C-Band spectrum assets can be maximised through the combination of 5G CA and advanced RAN coordination.

The vendor also highlighted AT&T’s use of its fronthaul gateway, which employs enhanced Common Public Radio Interface (eCPRI), an open interface developed to increase the efficiency of fiber fronthaul resources.

AT&T noted Ericsson’s equipment will aid a migration of its RAN to a cloud-based architecture: the operator previously detailed core network plans through a partnership with Microsoft.

Ericsson already counts Verizon and T-Mobile US as customers for its 5G network equipment in the US.

AT&T struck a five-year deal with Nokia for C-band equipment in March.