Ericsson

"LM Ericsson" redirects here. For the founder of the company, see Lars Magnus Ericsson.

For other uses, see Ericsson (disambiguation).

Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson

Company type	Publicly traded Aktiebolag
Traded as	Nasdaq Stockholm: ERIC-A Nasdaq Stockholm: ERIC-B Nasdaq: ERIC
Industry	Telecommunications equipment
Founded	Stockholm, Sweden (1876)
Founder	Lars Magnus Ericsson
Headquarters	Kista, Stockholm, Sweden
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Leif Johansson (Chairman) Hans Vestberg (President and CEO)
Products	Mobile and fixed broadband networks, consultancy and managed services, multimedia technology
Revenue	SEK 227.8 billion (2012)
Operating income	SEK 10.45 billion (2012)
Net income	SEK 5.9 billion (2012)
Total assets	SEK 274.9 billion (2012)
Total equity	SEK 136.8 billion (2012)
Number of employees	113,989 (September 2013)
Parent	Investor AB (5.0%)
Subsidiaries	ST-Ericsson (100%) Ericsson-LG (75%)
Website	Ericsson.com

Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson) is a Swedish multinational provider of communications technology and services. The offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for telecom operators and other industries, including telecommunications and IP networking equipment, mobile and fixed broadband, operations and business support solutions, cable TV, IPTV, video systems, and an extensive services operation. Ericsson is the world leader in the 2G/3G/4G mobile network infrastructure market (35% in 2012).

Ericsson is one of the strongest holder of essential patents in the wireless industry and have approximately 33,000 granted patents in 2012. Ericsson complies with terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) for its patent licensing programs and is a net receiver of licensing royalties.

Founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, the company is today headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company employs more than 110,000 people and work with customers in more than 180 countries, including the US, China, India, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Sweden.

History

Foundation

Lars Magnus Ericsson

Lars Magnus Ericsson began his association with telephones in his youth as an instrument maker. He worked for a firm which made telegraph equipment for the Swedish government agency Telegrafverket. In 1876, at the age of 30, he started a telegraph repair shop with help from his friend Carl Johan Andersson. The shop was in central Stockholm (No. 15 on Drottninggatan, the principal shopping street) and repaired foreign-made telephones. In 1878 Ericsson began making and selling his own telephone equipment. His phones were not technically innovative, as most of the inventions had already been made in the United States. In 1878 he made an agreement to supply telephones and switchboards to Sweden's first telecom operating company, Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag.

Also in 1878, local telephone importer Numa Peterson hired Ericsson to adjust some telephones from the Bell Telephone Company. This inspired him to buy a number of Siemens telephones and analyze the technology further. (Ericsson had a scholarship at Siemens a few years earlier.) Through his firm's repair work for Telegrafverket and Swedish Railways, he was familiar with Bell and Siemens Halske telephones. He improved these designs to produce a higher-quality instrument. These were used by new telephone companies, such as Rikstelefon, to provide cheaper service than the Bell Group. He had no patent or royalty problems, as Bell had not patented their inventions in Scandinavia. His training as an instrument maker was reflected in the standard of finish and the ornate design of Ericsson phones of this period. At the end of the year he started to manufacture telephones of his own, much in the image of the Siemens telephones, and the first product was finished in 1879.

Ericsson became a major supplier of telephone equipment to Scandinavia. Because its factory could not keep up with demand, work such as joinery and metal-plating was contracted out. Much of its raw materials were imported, so in the following decades Ericsson bought into a number of firms to ensure supplies of essentials like brass, wire, ebonite, and magnet steel. Much of the walnut used for cabinets was imported from the United States.

As Stockholm's telephone network expanded that year, the company reformed into a telephone manufacturing company. But when Bell bought the biggest telephone network in Stockholm, it only allowed its own telephones to be used with it. So Ericsson's equipment sold mainly to free telephone associations in the Swedish countryside and in the other Nordic countries.

The prices of Bell equipment and services led Henrik Tore Cedergren to form an independent telephone company in 1883 called Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag. As Bell would not deliver equipment to competitors, he formed a pact with Ericsson, which was to supply the equipment for his new telephone network. In 1918 the companies were merged into Allmänna Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

In 1884, a multiple-switchboard manual telephone exchange was more or less copied from a design by C. E. Scribner at Western Electric. This was legal, as the device was not patented in Sweden, although in the United States it had held patent 529421 since 1879. A single switchboard could handle up to 10,000 lines. The following year, LM Ericsson and Cedergren toured the United States, visiting several telephone exchange stations to gather "inspiration". They found that U.S. engineers were well ahead in switchboard design but Ericsson telephones were as good as any available.

In 1884, a technician named Anton Avén at Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag had combined the earpiece and the mouthpiece of a (by then) standard telephone into a handset. It was used by operators in the exchanges that needed to have one hand free when talking to their customers. Ericsson picked up this invention and incorporated it into Ericsson products, beginning with a telephone named The Dachshund.

International expansion

As production grew in the late 1890s, and the Swedish market seemed to be reaching saturation, Ericsson was able to expand into foreign markets through a number of agents. Britain and Russia were early markets. This eventually led to the establishment of factories in these countries. This was partly to improve chances of gaining local contracts, and partly because the Swedish factory could not keep up supply. In Britain, the National Telephone Company had been supplied with Ericsson equipment for some time and was a major customer. By 1897, Britain was accounting for 28% of Ericsson's sales. Other Nordic countries had become Ericsson customers as well, spurred by the growth of telephone services in Sweden.

Other countries and colonies were exposed to Ericsson products through the influence of their parent countries. These included Australia and New Zealand, which by the late 1890s were Ericsson's largest non-European market. With mass production techniques now firmly established, the phones were losing some of their ornate finish and decoration.

Despite their successes elsewhere, Ericsson did not make significant sales into the United States. The Bell Group and local companies like Kellogg and Automatic Electric had this market tied up. Ericsson eventually sold its U.S. assets. Sales in Mexico led to further development into South American countries. South Africa and China were also generating significant sales. With his company now multinational, Lars Ericsson stepped down from the company in 1901.

Automatic equipment

LM Ericsson's former headquarters at Telefonplan in Stockholm, see LM Ericsson building.

Ericsson ignored the growth of automatic telephony in the United States. Instead it concentrated on squeezing the most sales out of manual exchange designs. Their first dial phone was produced in 1921, although sales of the early automatic switching systems were slow until the equipment had proved itself on the world's markets. Phones of this period were characterized by a simpler design and finish, and many of the early automatic desk phones in Ericsson's catalogues were simply the proven magneto styles with a dial stuck on the front and appropriate changes to the electronics. A concession to style was in the elaborate decals (transfers) that decorated the cases.

World War I, the subsequent Great Depression, and the loss of its Russian assets after the Revolution slowed the company's development and restricted its sales to countries such as Australia.

Shareholding changes

The purchase of other related companies put pressure on Ericsson's finances, and in 1925, Karl Fredric Wincrantz took control of the company by acquiring the majority of the shares. Wincrantz was partly funded by Ivar Kreuger, an international financier. The company was renamed Telefon AB LM Ericsson. At this time, Kreuger started showing interest in the company, being a major owner of Wincrantz holding companies.

In 1928, Ericsson began issuing "A" and "B" shares, where an "A" share has 1000 votes against a "B" share. Wincrantz controlled the company by having only a few "A" shares, not a majority of the shares. By issuing a lot of "B" shares, much more money was fed to the company, while maintaining the status quo of power distribution.

In 1930, a second issue of "B"-shares took place, and Kreuger gained majority control of the company with a mixture of "A" and "B" shares. He bought these shares with money lent by LM Ericsson, with security given in German state bonds. He then took a loan for his own company Kreuger & Toll from ITT Corporation (administered by Sosthenes Behn), giving parts of LM Ericsson as security, and used its assets and name in a series of international financial dealings that had little to do with telephony.

Ericsson was now being seen as a take over target by ITT, its main international competitor. In 1931 ITT acquired from Kreuger enough shares to have a majority interest in Ericsson. This news was not made public for some time. There was a government imposed limit on foreign shareholdings in Swedish companies, so for the time being the shares were still listed in Kreuger's name. Kreuger in return was to gain shares in ITT. He stood to make a profit of $11 million on the deal. When ITT's Behn wanted to cancel this deal in 1932, he discovered that there was no money left in the company, just a large claim on the same Kreuger & Toll that Kreuger had himself lent money to. Kreuger had effectively bought LM Ericsson with its own money.

Kreuger had been using the company as security for loans, and despite his profits, was unable to repay these loans. Ericsson found that they had invested in some very doubtful share deals, whose losses were deemed significant. ITT examined the deal and found that it had been seriously misled about Ericsson's value. ITT asked Kreuger to come to New York City for a conference, but Kreuger did not attend. As word of Kreuger's financial position spread, pressure was put on him by the banking institutions to provide security for his loans. ITT canceled the deal to buy Ericsson shares. Kreuger could not repay the $11 million, and committed suicide in Paris in 1932. ITT owned one third of Ericsson, but was forbidden to exercise this ownership because of a paragraph in the company's articles of association stating that no foreign investor was allowed to control more than 20% of the votes.

Wallenberg era begins

Ericsson was saved from bankruptcy and closure with the help of banks and some government backing. Marcus Wallenberg Jr negotiated a deal with several Swedish banks to rebuild Ericsson financially. Some of those were Stockholms Enskilda Bank (which later became the current Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) and other Swedish investment banks controlled by the Wallenberg family. The banks gradually increased their possession of LM Ericsson "A" shares, with ITT still being the single largest shareholder. In 1960, the Wallenberg family struck a deal with ITT to buy its shares in Ericsson, and has since controlled the company.

Market development

The Ericsson DBH15 telephone. Introduced in 1931 as model DBH 1001 and redesigned in 1947. The original design is attributed to Jean Heiberg, redesigned by Gerard Kiljan

In the 1920s and 1930s, the world telephone markets were being organized and stabilized by many governments. The fragmented town-by-town systems which had grown up over the years, serviced by many small private companies, were integrated and offered for lease to a single company. Ericsson managed to obtain some leases, which represented further sales of equipment to the growing networks. The other large telephone companies, of course, had exactly the same goal.

Ericsson DBH 1001 1939

Telephone companies, of course, had exactly the same goal.

Ericsson DBH 1001 1939

Ericsson managed to get almost one third of its sales under the control of its telephone operating companies.

Negotiations between the major telephone companies aimed at dividing up the world between them, but the size of ITT made it hard to compete with. Ericsson reduced its involvement in telephone operating companies and went back to manufacturing telephones and switchgear. The Beeston factory in Britain had been a joint venture between Ericsson and the National Telephone Company. The factory built automatic switching equipment for the BPO under license from Strowger, and exported products to former colonies like South Africa and Australia. The British government divided its equipment contracts between competing manufacturers, but Ericsson's presence and manufacturing facilities in Britain allowed it to get most of the contracts.

Sales drives resumed after the Great Depression, but the company never achieved the market penetration that it had at the turn of the century. Although it still produced a range of phones, switching equipment was becoming a more important part of its range. The distinctive Ericsson styles soon became subdued by the increasing use of Bakelite telephones starting in the 1930.

Following the advent of football shirt sponsorship during the 1980s, Ericsson sponsored two English football clubs during the 1990s – Brentford and Queen's Park Rangers.

Further development

Ericsson introduced the world's first fully automatic mobile telephone system, MTA in 1956. It released one of the world's first handsfree speaker phones in the 1960s. In 1954, it released the Ericofon. Ericsson crossbar switching equipment was used in telephone administrations in many countries, and its influence is still felt in such areas as mobile phones.

Acquisitions, expansion, consolidation and cooperation

Around the start of the 21st century, companies and governments began to push for standards for the emerging mobile internet. In May 2000, the European Commission created the Wireless Strategic Initiative, a consortium of four telecommunications suppliers in Europe – Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel (France), and Siemens AG (Germany) – to develop and test new prototypes for advanced wireless communications systems. Later that year, the consortium partners invited other companies to join them in a Wireless World Research Forum in 2001.

In 2000, the bursting of the information technology bubble with marked economic implications for Sweden. Ericsson, the world's largest producer of mobile telecommunications equipment, shed thousands of jobs, as did the country's once fast-expanding Internet consulting firms and dot-com start-ups. In the same year, Intel, the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer, signed a $1.5 billion deal to supply flash memory to Ericsson over the next three years.

In December 1999 Microsoft and Ericsson announced a strategic partnership to combine the former's web browser and server software with the latter's mobile-internet technologies. A short-lived joint venture called Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture AB, owned 70/30 percent by Ericsson and Microsoft, respectively, ended in October 2001 when Ericsson announced that it would absorb the former joint venture and adopt a licensing agreement with Microsoft instead.

That same month, Ericsson announced the launch of Sony Ericsson, a joint venture mobile-phone business, together with Sony Corporation. Sony Ericsson remained in operation until February 2012, when Sony bought out Ericsson's share, Ericsson stating that it wanted to focus on the global wireless market as a whole.

Lower stock prices and job losses affected many telecommunications companies in 2001. The major equipment manufacturers – Motorola (U.S.), Lucent Technologies (U.S.), Cisco Systems (U.S.), Marconi (UK), Siemens AG (Germany), Nokia (Finland), as well as Ericsson – all announced job cuts both in their home countries and in subsidiaries around the world. The number of jobs at Ericsson worldwide fell during 2001 from 107,000 to 85,000.

In September 2001 Ericsson purchased the remaining shares in EHPT from Hewlett Packard. Founded in 1993 Ericsson Hewlett Packard Telecom EHPT was a Joint Venture made up of 60% Ericsson interests and 40% Hewlett-Packard interests.

The pain continued into 2002. Investor losses topped $2 trillion and share prices fell by 95% until August that year. More than half a million people lost their jobs in the global telecom industry over the two years. The collapse of U.S. carrier WorldCom, with more than $107 billion in assets, was the biggest in U.S. history. The sector's problems brought bankruptcies and job losses, and led to changes in the leadership of a number of major companies. Ericsson made 20,000 more staff redundant and raise about $3 billion from its shareholders.

In June 2002, Infineon Technologies AG (then the sixth-largest semiconductor supplier and a subsidiary of Siemens AG) bought Ericsson’s microelectronics unit for $400 million.

Co-operation with Hewlett-Packard did not end with EHPT and in 2003 Ericsson outsourced its IT to HP, which included Managed Services, Help Desk Support, Data Center Operations, and HP Utility Data Center. The contract was extended in 2008. There have also been a number of joint Ericsson/HP Telecoms outsourcing deals with telecoms operators including H3G and Vodafone.

In October 2005, Ericsson acquired the bulk of the troubled British telecommunications manufacturer, the Marconi Company, including its brand name, which dates back to the creation of the original Marconi Company by the "father of radio" Guglielmo Marconi. In September 2006, Ericsson sold the greater part of its defense business Ericsson Microwave Systems, which mainly produced sensor and radar systems, to Saab AB, which renamed the company to Saab Microwave Systems. The sale meant that Saab Ericsson Space, previously a joint venture, was now fully owned by Saab. Not included in the sale to Saab was the National Security & Public Safety division, which was transferred to Ericsson with the sale.

In 2007, Ericsson acquired carrier edge-router maker Redback Networks, and then Entrisphere, a US-based company providing fiber-access technology. In September 2007, Ericsson acquired an 84% interest in German customer-care and billing software firm LHS, a stake later raised to 100%.

In 2008, Ericsson sold its enterprise PBX division to Aastra Technologies, and acquired Tandberg Television, the television technology division of Norwegian company Tandberg.

In 2009, Ericsson bought the CDMA2000 and LTE business of Nortel’s carrier networks division for USD 1.18 billion; Bizitek, a Turkish business support systems integrator; the Estonian manufacturing operations of electronic manufacturing company Elcoteq; and completed its acquisition of LHS.

Acquisitions in 2010 included assets from the Strategy and Technology Group of inCode, a North American business and consulting-services company; Nortel’s majority shareholding (50% plus one share) in LG-Nortel, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Nortel Networks providing sales, R&D and industrial capacity in South Korea, now known as Ericsson-LG; further Nortel carrier-division assets, relating from Nortel’s GSM business in the United States and Canada; Optimi Corporation, a U.S.–Spanish telecommunications vendor specializing in network optimization and management; and Pride, a consulting and systems-integration company operating in Italy.

In 2011, Ericsson acquired manufacturing and research facilities and staff from the Guangdong Nortel Telecommunication Equipment Company (GDNT) as well as Nortel’s Multiservice Switch business.

It also formed a strategic alliance with Akamai Technologies to develop and market mobile cloud acceleration services.

Ericsson acquired U.S. company Telcordia Technologies in January 2012, operations and business support systems (OSS/BSS) company. In March, Ericsson announced that it was buying the broadcast-services division of Technicolor, a media broadcast technology company.

On July 1, 2013, Ericsson announced it would acquire the media management company Red Bee Media, subject to regulatory approval.

In September 2013, Ericsson completed its acquisition of Microsoft's Mediaroom business and televisions solution, originally announced in April the same year. The acquisition makes Ericsson the largest provider of IPTV and multi-screen solution in the world, by market share. Ericsson Mediaroom.

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of LM Ericsson are: Leif Johansson, Jacob Wallenberg, Sverker Martin-Löf, Roxanne S. Austin, Sir Peter L. Bonfield, Börje Ekholm, Ulf J. Johansson, Anders Nyrén, Hans Vestberg, Nora Denzel, Kristin Skogen Lund, Alexander Izosimov, Pehr Claesson, Kristina Davidsson, Karin Åberg, Karin Lennartsson, Rickard Fredriksson, and Roger Svensson.

Products and services

LM Ericsson offers products and services from three main business units.

• Business Unit Networks (BNET) focuses on networks for mobile and fixed line public telephone networks.
• Business Unit Global Services (BUGS) provides telecoms-related professional services, including for example taking responsibility for running an operators network and related business support systems.
• Business Unit Support Solutions focuses on Operations support systems/Business support systems (OSS/BSS), TV and media and Mobile commerce (M-Commerce).

In addition, there is a research and development element, and central functions. Operations locally are coordinated through a structure of regions and Market Units, with some Global and Multi-Country Accounts for large customers.

Business Unit Networks: Mobile and fixed networks

LM Ericsson provides mobile systems products to network operators. Its systems offerings include radio base stations, base station and radio network controllers, mobile switching centers and service application nodes. It offers operators services and products for network migration to 3G.

Mobile access

Ericsson provides mobile telecommunications systems that incorporate any of the major second-generation (2G) (global system for mobile communications (GSM), time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), 2.5G (General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), 2.75G (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), and 3G wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Evolved HSPA (HSPA+, I-HSPA), Evcode division multiple access (third generation cellular/radio technology) (CDMA2000), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA)) mobile technology standards. It offers services to network operators for several network standards. Ericsson is also involved in the development of standards for the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) of 3G.

Fixed broadband access

Ericsson supplies broadband multi-service communications equipment and services mainly to fixed network operators in Latin America and Europe. Its products for such multi-service networks utilize a layered soft-switch service and control architecture, combined with broadband access and core network routing and transmission elements. Fixed network equipment and associated network rollout services account for 7% of Systems sales.

Radio access networks

LM Ericsson offers radio base stations ranging from small pico cells (small cells in a mobile network that boost capacity and coverage within buildings) to high-capacity macro cell applications. Radio base stations provide access and interconnection between mobile handsets and the mobile network. A central feature of the 2G GSM radio base stations and base station controllers is their ability to be upgraded to enable 2.5G/GPRS and 2.75G/EDGE transmissions. Similarly, its W-CDMA base stations can be upgraded to HSDPA.

Other elements of the radio access networks are the controllers for radio base stations and radio access network, which manage the traffic between the radio base stations and core networks. In 2G, base station controllers in conjunction with mobile switching centers, effect call handovers between radio base stations as subscribers move between cell sites while engaged in a voice call or data transmission. Similarly, in 3G networks, a radio network controller effects call handover in conjunction with mobility server nodes within the service layer.

The core network nodes interconnect radio access networks with other parts of the network. Many of the core network switching systems, controllers for base stations and radio networks are built upon common platforms. Like its radio base station products, LM Ericsson's mobile switching products have scalability and capacity. Mobile network equipment and associated network rollout services account for approximately 74% of its sales.

IP core network (switching, routing, control and transport)

Ericsson's core network solutions include the mobile softswitch, IP infrastructure, IMS, media gateways, Mobile Packet Backbone Network (MPBN) and microwave and optical transport solutions to provide management of voice and data traffic.

Ericsson Network Technologies

Ericsson Network Technologies (Cables) unit provides a range of cable-related items for telecom and power networks. LM Ericsson is engaged in the passive fiber access network field including integration of copper, fiber optic and mobile technologies. About a third of the sales from its Cables group is attributable to inter-segment sales. Manufacturing is carried out in China, India, Malaysia and Sweden.

• AXE telephone exchange
• Base Transceiver Station
• Network Switching Subsystem

Ericsson Power Modules

Ericsson Power Modules is a supplier of direct current (DC)/DC converters and DC/DC regulators, mainly to the communications industry, for advanced applications, such as multiplexors, switches, routers and radio base stations. Manufacturing is in China.

Ericsson Microwave Systems

Ericsson Microwave Systems designed radar systems and was eventually sold to Saab AB on September 1, 2006 as a move to focus on telecom and move out of the military market.

Business Unit Support Solutions

Initially established in 2007 as Business Unit Multimedia, Ericsson announced a new strategy for its multimedia business in February 2012. Business Unit Support Solutions focuses on Operations support systems / Business support systems (OSS/BSS), TV and media and Mobile commerce (M-Commerce). Ericsson claims a leading position in charging and billing, serving 1.6 billion people with its solutions.

• OSS and BSS has expanded following the integration of Telcordia and focuses on Customer experience management (CEM), including fulfillment, assurance, network optimization and real-time charging.

• TV and media offers products that enable operators and content owners to monetize video content through multi-screen TV services.

• M-Commerce sells mobile e-commerce products, for mobile operators and financial institutions offer mobile wallet services to consumers. Ericsson has announced m-commerce deals with Western Union and African wireless carrier MTN.

Devices

Further information: List of Sony Ericsson products

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) was a joint venture with Sony which merged the previous mobile phone operations from both companies. As well as mobile phone, it also produced accessories and personal computer (PC) cards. Sony Ericsson was responsible for product design and development, as well as marketing, sales, distribution and customer services. On February 16, 2012, Sony announced it had completed the full acquisition of Sony Ericsson.

Mobile (cell) phones

GF 768

The following is a list of mobile phones marketed under the brand name Ericsson. As a joint venture with Sony, mobile phone production was moved into the company Sony Ericsson in 2001. Ericsson subsequently sold its share in the venture to Sony, effective 2012.

• Ericsson GA628 – Known for its z80 CPU
• Ericsson SH888 – First mobile phone to have wireless modem capabilities.
• Ericsson A1018 – Dualband cellphone, notably easy to hack.
• Ericsson A2618 & Ericsson A2628 – Dualband cellphones. Use graphical LCD display based on PCF8548 I²C controller.
• Ericsson PF768
• Ericsson GF768
• Ericsson T10 – Colourful Cellphone
• Ericsson T18
• Ericsson T28 – Very slim and sophisticated phone. Uses advanced lithium polymer batteries. Ericsson T28 FAQ use graphical LCD display based on PCF8558 I²C controller.
• Ericsson T29
• Ericsson T39 – Similar to the T28, but with a GPRS modem and triband capabilities.
• Ericsson T66
• Ericsson T68 – The first Ericsson handset to have a color display, later branded as Sony Ericsson T68i
• Ericsson R310s
• Ericsson R320s
• Ericsson R380 – First cellphone to use the Symbian OS
• Ericsson R520 – Similar to the T39, but in a candy bar form factor and with added convenience features such as a built-in speakerphone and an optical proximity sensor
• Ericsson R600

Telephones

• Ericsson Dialog
• Ericofon

Ericsson Mobile Platforms

Ericsson Mobile Platforms is a supplier of technology platforms for GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA platforms used in devices, such as mobile handsets and PC cards. Through Ericsson Mobile Platforms, LM Ericsson licenses open-standard, end-to-end interoperability tested GSM/EDGE and WCDMA technology platforms. The product offerings include reference designs, platform software, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs and development boards, development and test tools, training, support and documentation. Ericsson Mobile Platforms has operations at nine global locations, with main operations in Sweden.

Ericsson Enterprise

Ericsson Enterprise provides communications systems and services for businesses, public entities and educational institutions. It provides products for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)-based private branch exchanges (PBX), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and mobile intranet solutions. Ericsson Enterprise operates mainly from Sweden but also operates through market units and other partners/distributors. Manufacturing is outsourced. In 2008, the Ericsson Enterprise business was sold to Aastra.

Business Unit Global Services

Ericsson provides consulting, systems integration, managed services, network deployment and integration, education and support services. That includes planning, building, deploying, optimizing, running networks and services for customers as well as providing strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consultancy services.

The Company offers managed services to the telecom industry. Its offerings cover management of day-to-day operations of a customer's network (Home internet Solution), including a managed capacity service for a network build out and on-demand capacity, as well as hosting of applications and content management. Ericsson's services organization has over 30,000 service professionals working in 175 countries.

Managed services

Ericsson provides managed services for designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business-support systems, hosting service applications and content, and providing network coverage and capacity on demand. Ericsson announced more than 100 contracts for managed services with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 225 million subscribers. In September 2009 Ericsson assumed the day to day operations of Sprint Nextel's wireline and wireless networks. As of 2010 Ericsson has offered to assume ownership of customer's networks in addition to managing them.

Ericsson also provides both preventative and corrective support services.

Systems integration

Ericsson's Systems integrations offering currently consists of seven service offerings:

• OSS or Operations Support Systems
• BSS or Business Support Systems
• IP Networks and Architecture
• TV, Applications and Service Delivery Platforms
• Solution and Life-Cycle Management
• Data Migration
• Multi-Vendor Verification

Education and consulting

Learning Services and Ericsson provides training programs and managed learning services.

Ericsson also offers strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consulting.

Network roll-out

Ericsson’s network roll-out services employ a mix of in-house capabilities, subcontractors and central resources to perform the task of making changes in live networks.

The service offering includes access, core and transport networks, as well as in-building solutions, irrespective of vendor.

Ericsson customizes service offerings include:

• Civil Works
• Data Migration
• Integration
• Integration Design
• Multi-Vendor Verification
• Network Design
• Site Acquisition
• Software Deployment Preparation

.mobi and mobile internet

Ericsson was an official backer in the launch of the .mobi top level domain created specifically for the mobile internet. Since the launch of .mobi in September 2006, Ericsson has launched Ericsson.mobi, its mobile portal, and SonyEricsson.mobi, the mobile portal of Sony Ericsson. Additionally, Ericsson hosts a developer program called Ericsson Developer Connection, designed to encourage development of applications and services. Ericsson also has an open innovation initiative for beta applications and beta API's & tools called Ericsson Labs. The company hosts several internal innovation competitions among its employees.

See also

• Investor AB
• Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile Communications)
• List of Sony Ericsson products
• Cedergren
• Ericsson Nikola Tesla
• Erlang (programming language)
• Tandberg Television
• STMicroelectronics Small Shareholders’ Group (STM.S.S.G.)
• Template:Fr icon Collectif Autonome et Démocratique de STMicroelectronics (CAD-ST)

Further reading

• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (1994) A switch in time: AXE — creating a foundation for the information age. London: Communications Week International. ISBN 0-9524031-1-0.
• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (1997). The ugly duckling. Stockholm: Ericsson Mobile Communications. ISBN 91-630-5452-3.
• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (2000). The Ericsson Chronicle: 125 years in telecommunications. Stockholm: Informationsförlaget. ISBN 91-7736-464-3.
• The Mobile Phone Book: The Invention of the Mobile Telephone Industry. ISBN 0-9524031-0-2
• Mobile media and applications – from concept to cash: successful service creation and launch. ISBN 0-470-01747-3
• Anders Pehrsson (1996). International Strategies in Telecommunications. London: Routledge Research. ISBN 0-415-14829-4

External links

• Official website
• M-commerce
• Unplug
• OSS/BSS
• Careers Website

Recent patent filings

• PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD AND SOCIAL NETWORK AND METHOD FOR SHARING CONTENT INFORMATION -- HANSSON; Emil; (Lund, SE) ; LUNDGREN; Lars-Gunnar; (Lund, SE) ; OSTERDAHL; David; (Lund, SE)
• SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING A PARTIALLY VIEWED VOD PROGRAM FROM A FIRST SERVICE LOCATION TO A SECOND SERVICE LOCATION -- Rouse , Alan (Lawrenceville, GA) Charles Dasher (Lawrenceville, GA),
• Method and Apparatus for use in an IP Multimedia Subsystem -- Khan; David; (Johanneshov, SE) ; Forsman; Timo; (Alvsjo, SE) ; Jonsson; Annika; (Enskede, SE)
• SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAPPING CUSTOMER PREMISE EQUIPMENT IN A VOD SYSTEM OF A CABLE SERVICE PROVIDER -- Rouse; Alan; (Lawrenceville, GA); Charles Dasher (Lawrenceville, GA)