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Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson) (), one of the largest Swedish companies, is a leading provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks. Directly and through subsidiaries, it also has a major role in mobile devices and cable TV and IPTV systems.
Founded in 1876 as a telegraph equipment repair shop by Lars Magnus Ericsson, it was incorporated on August 18, 1918.
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Encyclopedia
Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson) (), one of the largest Swedish companies, is a leading provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks. Directly and through subsidiaries, it also has a major role in mobile devices and cable TV and IPTV systems.
Founded in 1876 as a telegraph equipment repair shop by Lars Magnus Ericsson, it was incorporated on August 18, 1918. Headquartered in Kista, Stockholm Municipality, since 2003, LM Ericsson is considered part of the so-called "Wireless Valley". Since the mid 1990s, Ericsson's extensive presence in Stockholm helped transform the capital into one of Europe's hubs of information technology (IT) research. Ericsson has offices and operations in more than 150 countries, with more than 20,000 staff in Sweden, and significant presences also in, for example, China, the UK, the USA, Finland, Ireland, and Brazil.
In the early 20th century, Ericsson dominated the world market for manual telephone exchanges but was late to introduce automatic equipment. The world's largest ever manual telephone exchange, serving 60,000 lines, was installed by Ericsson in Moscow in 1916. Throughout the 1990s, Ericsson held a 35-40% market share of installed cellular telephone systems. Like most of the telecommunications industry, LM Ericsson suffered heavy losses after the telecommunications crash in the early 2000s, and had to fire tens of thousands of staff worldwide in an attempt to manage the financial situation, returning to profit by the mid 2000s.
In 2001 the handsets division formed of a joint venture with Sony called Sony Ericsson. LM Ericsson is now a major provider of handset cores and an infrastructure supplier for all major wireless technologies. It has played an important global role in modernizing existing copper lines to offer broadband services and has actively grown a new line of business in the professional services area.
On 18 February 2008, it was announced that Aastra Technologies would acquire the enterprise PBX division of Ericsson.
History
Foundation
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 Swedish firm Telegrafverket. In 1876, aged 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 US. 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 company. This inspired him to buy a number of Siemens telephones and analyze the technology further. (Ericsson had 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 high standard of finish and the ornate design which made Ericsson phones of this period so attractive to collectors. 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.
With its reputation established, 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 US.
As Stockholm's telephone network expanded rapidly 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 high 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 US it held patent 529421 since 1879. A single switchboard could handle up to 10,000 lines. The following year, LM Ericsson and Cedergren toured the US, visiting several telephone exchange stations to gather "inspiration". They found that US 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 Allänna 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 rapid 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 US assets. In contrast, sales in Mexico were good and led to further development into South American countries. South Africa and China were also generating significant sales. With his company now multinational, and growing strongly, Lars Ericsson stepped down from the company in 1901.
Automatic equipment
In a curious oversight, Ericsson ignored the growth of automatic telephony in the US. Instead it concentrated on squeezing the most sales out of manual exchange designs. By 1910, this weakness was becoming seriously apparent, and the company spent the years up to 1920 correcting the situation. 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. These phones have been also highly collectable and attractive.
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 its long tradition of "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 large loan for his own company Kreuger & Toll from ITT Corporation (administered by Sosthenes Behn), giving large parts of LM Ericsson as security, and used its assets and name in a series of doubtful international financial dealings that had little to do with telephony.
Financially weakened, 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.
With Kreuger no longer in control, the company's shaky financial position became quickly evident. 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 the probable losses were significant. ITT examined the deal and found that it had been misled quite seriously about the Ericsson's value. It summoned Kreuger to New York City for a conference, but Kreuger had a "breakdown". 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 articles of association stating that no foreign investor was allowed to control more than 20% of the votes.
The Wallenberg era begins
Ericsson, a basically stable and profitable company, was only saved from bankruptcy and closure with help of loyal 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 (after a later merger part of the present Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) and other Swedish investment banks controlled by the Wallenberg family. Then gradually increased their possession of LM Ericsson "A" shares, with ITT still being the single largest owner. In 1960 the Wallenberg family struck a deal with ITT to buy its shares in Ericsson, and has since controlled the company, under the "Wallenberg sphere".
Market development
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 was vital to the company as it represented further sales of equipment to the growing networks. The other large telephone companies, of course, had exactly the same goal. Ericsson managed to get almost one third of its sales under the control of its telephone operating companies.
There were a number of negotiations between the major telephone companies aimed at dividing up the world between them, but the sheer size of the ITT empire made it hard to compete with. With its financial problems, Ericsson was forced to reduce its involvement in telephone operating companies and go back to what it did best, manufacturing telephones and switchgear. It could do this easily now, thanks to its overseas manufacturing facilities and its associated supply companies. These had not been involved in the previous shady financial dealings and were generally in a sound position. The Beeston factory in Britain became a very useful asset here. It 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 a large amount of product 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. Ericsson equipment maintained its reputation for quality.
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 full 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 moulded thermoplastic phones (Bakelite, etc).
Further development
Yet, Ericsson remained a world telecommunications leader. It released one of the world's first handsfree speaker phones in the 1960s. In 1956, it released the Ericofon, which was such a radical departure in styling that it has been highly collectable. Ericsson crossbar switching equipment is the mainstay of many telephone administrations around the world, and its influence is still felt strongly in such areas as mobile phones with its reputation for quality.
Acquisitions, expansion, consolidation and cooperation
As the Internet and wireless telephony began to merge during the turn of the century, Motorola (US), Ericsson, and Nokia (Finland) announced plans to develop standards jointly for the security of electronic transactions over mobile devices in 2000. In May 2000 the European Commission created the Wireless Strategic Initiative, a consortium of four leading telecommunications suppliers in Europe — Ericsson, Nokia, France-based Alcatel, and German Siemens AG — to develop and test new prototypes for advanced wireless communications systems. After meeting with an international think tank, the consortium partners in December 2000 invited other companies to join them in a Wireless World Research Forum held in 2001.
In 2000, the bursting of the information technology bubble had 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 2000, Intel Corp., the world's largest chip manufacturer, signed a $1.5 billion deal to supply flash memory to LM Ericsson over the next three years.
In 2001 telecommunications companies around the world experienced a year of tumbling stock prices and huge job losses. By September the stock market valuation of the world's telecom carriers and suppliers had declined by $3.8 trillion from a peak of $6.3 trillion in March 2000. More than a quarter of a million jobs were lost globally in the second quarter of 2001 alone. The major equipment manufacturers — Motorola (US), Lucent Technologies (US), and Cisco Systems (US), 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. Some of the biggest losses were announced by the Canadian supplier Nortel Networks Ltd., which shed 50% of its workforce (almost 50,000 jobs), while in France equipment manufacturer Alcatel cut 33,000 jobs (almost a third of its employees).
In April 2001, Ericsson and Sony Corp of Japan announced that they were setting up a joint venture, based in London, to combine their cellular handset manufacturing businesses.
Financially, 2002 was even worse for the global Internet and telecommunications industry than the previous year had been due the excesses of the investment bubbles. LM Ericsson, Royal KPN NV, Vodafone Group PLC, and Deutsche Telekom AG experienced the biggest losses in corporate history. The telecommunications sector's problems brought bankruptcies and job losses, and led to changes in the leadership of a number of major companies. The most high-profile victim in 2002 was Ericsson, then the world's largest producer of wireless telecom systems, as it was forced to let go thousands of staff 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 the microelectronics unit of LM Ericsson for €400 million.
In October 2005, LM Ericsson acquired the bulk of the troubled British telecoms manufacturer Marconi, including the Marconi brand name, which dates back to the creation of the original Marconi Company by the "father of radio" Guglielmo Marconi. In September 2006, LM 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, is 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 November 2006, LM Ericsson purchased the UIQ software business for smartphones from Symbian.
In January 2007, LM Ericsson completed the merger of its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Maxwell Acquisition Corporation, with and into Redback Networks Inc. (Redback), with Redback surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of LM Ericsson. In February 2007, LM Ericsson acquired Entrisphere, a company providing fiber access technology, based in the United States. In September 2007, LM Ericsson acquired an 84% interest in German software firm, LHS Telekom Inc., a stake since raised to 87.5%.
Major competitors today include, in the main business, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Nortel, with Cisco, IBM, EDS, Accenture, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG Electronics, NEC, Sharp and most recently Apple Inc, competing with aspects of the business (for more details, see the last template at the end of the page).
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of LM Ericsson are: Monica Bergström, Peter Bonfield, Kristina Davidsson, Börje Ekholm, Anna Guldstrand, Jan Hedlund, Katherine Hudson, Ulf Johansson, Per Lindh, Sverker Martin-Löf, Nancy McKinstry, Torbjörn Nyman, Anders Nyrén, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Michael Treschow and Marcus Wallenberg.
Products and services
LM Ericsson offers end-to-end solutions for all major mobile communication standards, and has three main business units.
- Business Unit Networks 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 Multimedia (BUMM) provides charging, provisioning, IPTV, mobile TV and other support and media systems, primarily for telecom operators.
In addition, there is a very substantial research and development element, and a range of 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 solutions to network operators. Its systems offerings include radio base stations, base station and radio network controllers, mobile switching centers and service application nodes. Its end-to-end solutions offer operators a 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)) and 3G (enhanced data for GSM evolution (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), code division multiple access (third generation cellular/radio technology) (CDMA2000), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA)) mobile technology standards. It is able to offer tailored solutions to a network operator, regardless of the existing network standard used. Ericsson is actively involved in the development of standards for the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) of 3G.
Fixed broadband access
The expansion of Ericsson's fixed broadband offering is an important step to address network operators as they begin integrating their fixed and mobile networks. It supplies broadband multi-service communications equipment and services mainly to fixed network operators in Latin America and Europe. Its solution for such multi-service networks utilizes 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 a portfolio of 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 3G/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 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 solutions 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.
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 centralized to China.
Ericsson Microwave Systems
Ericsson Microwave Systems was sold to Saab AB in September 1, 2006.
Business Unit Multimedia
In addition to essential systems, relationships with content and application partners enable Ericsson to deliver solutions for mobile multimedia. This Business Unit also oversees Ericsson's work with mobile phones and mobile phone platforms.
Devices
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) delivers mobile phones, accessories and personal computer (PC) cards, which allow it to provide end-to-end solutions to its customers. Sony Ericsson is responsible for product design and development, as well as marketing, sales, distribution and customer services. About one-third of Sony Ericsson's handsets are produced at their factory in China. The remaining two-thirds of production is more or less equally split between contract manufacturers (EMS) and other device manufacturers (ODM) at locations in several countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Cellular telephones
Since the joint venture Sony Ericsson started in 2001, Ericsson does not make cellular phones by itself anymore. Previous models include the following:
- 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. First to use graphical LCD display.
- Ericsson T10 - Colourful Cellphone
- Ericsson T18
- Ericsson T28 - Very slim and sophisticated phone. Uses advanced lithium polymer batteries.
- 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 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 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 that enable businesses, public entities and educational institutions to have seamless access to applications and services across multiple locations. It addresses a variety of enterprise needs through segmented offerings for both small and large enterprises. It focuses on providing solutions for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)-based private branch exchanges (PBX), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and mobile intranet solutions. With Mobile Enterprise, users on the move are able to access a range of business-critical communications and information applications from a variety of devices over private or public, fixed or wireless networks. Ericsson Enterprise operates mainly from Sweden but has a global presence through the market units and other partners/distributors. Manufacturing is outsourced.
In 2008, Ericsson Enterprise business is sold to Aastra, a global company at the forefront of the Enterprise Communication market.
Business Unit Global Services
Ericsson is the world's largest telecom services provider and the strength in telecom services has a strong correlation with the company's technology leadership, R&D achievements and long tradition of innovation. The services portfolio includes expertise in the areas of consulting, systems integration, managed services, network deployment and integration, education and support services. That includes planning, building, deploying, optimizing, running networks and solutions for customers as well as providing strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consultancy services.
. The Company offers managed services capabilities within 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. By outsourcing certain activities to Ericsson, operators focus on their core business of attracting, serving and retaining customers. Ericsson's services organization has over 30,000 service professionals working in 175 countries.
Managed Services
By outsourcing certain activities to Ericsson, operators and other service providers can focus even more on their core business of attracting, serving and retaining customers. Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business-support systems, to hosting service applications and content, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially 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 worldwide.
Support Services
Ericsson provides support to its customers to maximize network availability and secure long-term evolution. This includes both a preventative and corrective approach.
Ericsson’s offering for support services combines technology leadership with a mix of global and local resources to enable customers to meet their business objectives. The combination of global presence and local competence ensures around the clock support, every day of the year. Ericsson has the capacity to provide both immediate support as well as long-term management and evolution of a customer's operations.
The comprehensive support portfolio covers everything from spare parts management to proactively supporting customized software in order to:
- Securing the right network competence
- Managing network complexity
- Securing services evolution
- Managing multiple suppliers
- Optimizing spare parts handling.
Systems Integration
As technology evolves and interdependencies in multi-vendor environments increase, integration becomes a more complex, costly and risky task for operators.
In an environment where focus is on end-users and costs, operators are need to optimize investments to achieve greater quality and shorter time to revenue.
Ericsson’s systems integration services provides a safe and efficient way of building and evolving equipment, management systems and applications. The service encompasses the integration of all existing communication standards and end-user services, such as MMS, and related business support systems, such as charging, provisioning and terminal testing.
Ericsson takes the role of solution provider, transforming customers' objectives into a customized solution that is implemented according to business and technical requirements in a multi-vendor environment.
Education
Ericsson's education supports customers in today's technology-driven telecom world through employee competence development and performance improvement.
Utilizing Ericsson’s consultants and knowledge within the telecommunications arena, providing opportunities for customers' employees to develop the knowledge and competence required to meet challenging business objectives.
Consulting
Ericsson's expertise covers strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consulting capabilities.
With a leading global telecom consulting practice, powered by top industry consulting professionals who create competitive advantage for customers and Ericsson, Ericsson identifies and addresses opportunities and challenges arising from market developments, technology shifts and efficiency demands.
Network Roll-out
Operators seeking to deploy, expand, restructure, upgrade or migrate their access network, can turn to Ericsson for network roll-out services.
Ericsson’s network roll-out services employ a professional mix of in-house capabilities, subcontractors and central resources to perform the task of making changes in live networks.
The service offering provides solutions for access, core and transport networks, as well as in-building solutions, irrespective of vendor.
Utilizing its extensive global experience, Ericsson customizes service offering to meet specific customer needs and creating solutions for the full range of network deployment and integration needs:
- Civil Works
- Data Migration
- Integration
- Integration Design
- Multi-Vendor Verification
- Network Design
- Site Acquisition
- Software Deployment Preparation
.mobi and mobile internet
Ericsson was instrumental, as 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 , its mobile portal, and , the mobile portal of Sony Ericsson. Additionally, Ericsson hosts a developer program called , designed to encourage fast development of mobile internet applications and services. Ericsson also has an open innovation initiative for beta applications and beta API's & tools called Ericsson Labs.
See also
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
External links
Ericsson
- - Official site
- - Explaining Ericsson's views and position
- - Ericsson Developer Program
- - Ericsson open innovation
- - Official site
Profiles
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