Ericsson is teaming with global telecom operators, KDDI, Deutsche Telekom, and SK Telecom on Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G projects.

In the IoT area, KDDI says it will use Ericsson's cloud-based Device Connection Platform (DCP) to offer IoT services to enterprises. This will enable KDDI customers to deploy, manage, and scale connected IoT devices and applications globally.

By offering multinational connectivity, DCP allows users like KDDI to connect large numbers of IoT devices. According to Ericsson, the platform lowers entry and ownership costs for IoT systems.

Ericsson predicts there will be 16 billion connected IoT devices by 2020.

In addition, Ericsson will be the sole infrastructure provider for a transcontinental 5G trial network with Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom. The trial network will be built in South Korea and Germany.

The trial network will use 5G technologies such as network functions virtualization (NFV), software-defined infrastructure (SDI), distributed cloud, and network slicing, with the goal of enabling global reach for 5G use cases.

Ericsson and SK Telecom successfully demonstrated network slicing technology in October 2015. Network slicing allows multiple users to be on the same network infrastructure while creating slices for particular industry verticals, including customers' international business.

A few weeks ago Ericsson launched its 5G software plug-ins aimed at bringing 5G capabilities to existing networks with commercial availability. The company touted these plug-ins as a way to serve 5G use cases. The plug-ins are supported by the Ericsson radio system and are designed to help operators transition to 5G within their current networks.