Verizon has tapped Ericsson to provide pre-standard networking equipment for the mobile giant’s commercial launch of fixed-wireless 5G service next year. 

Under the contract, Ericsson will provide the 5G network core and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN), which will be deployed in select markets in the second half of 2018, as well as transport and associated services.

“5G will change the way we work, interact, learn and play,” Ed Chan, SVP of technology strategy and planning for corporate networking and technology at Verizon, said in a statement. “Through our work with Ericsson, we are creating a clear roadmap and building a robust ecosystem that will enable us to maximize the potential of 5G.”

In late November, Verizon announced plans to roll out the industry’s first commercial 5G fixed wireless broadband service in Sacramento, Calif., during the second half of 2018. The residential deployment will expand to two to four additional markets by the end of the year.

Verizon and Ericsson have both been working on fixed wireless 5G trials utilizing millimeter wave spectrum over the past year, which Ericsson called a “critical step” in the carrier’s plan to launch a fixed wireless broadband network. 

“Our pioneering work with 5G will make U.S. consumers and businesses among the first in the world to benefit from the transformative services of the new technology,” said Fredrik Jejdling, EVP and head of business area networks at Ericsson. “It further illustrates how our global 5G portfolio, designed to support 5G NR as standardized in 3GPP, enables first movers in the early commercialization of 5G networks.”