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Ericsson to help roll out Verizon’s 4G network in the US

Sweden’s telecom equipment provider Ericsson has been chosen by Verizon Wireless to help build the United States’ first 4G wireless network.

Published: 18 February 2009 18:45 CET

Ericsson, along with Alcatel-Lucent will help Verizon put the infrastructure in place to allow the US wireless service provider launch the country’s first commercial 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network starting in 2010.

“Verizon Wireless’ LTE network deployment will be driven by our vision of providing ubiquitous global wireless broadband connectivity and mobility,” Verizon CEO Dick Lynch said in a statement.

He said the new, more powerful network would help “meet consumer demand for mobilizing the many applications they frequently use when tethered to high bandwidth wired networks.”

While exact terms of the contract were not disclosed, telecoms analyst Helena Nordman-Knutson from the Öhman investment bank estimated that the order to bring Ericsson more than 20 billion kronor ($2.3 billion) over two years.

“That’s just talking about the radio equipment; Verizon needs a new network with all that entails,” she told the Dagens Industri (DI) newspaper.

Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg emphasized the importance of the order for his company.

“When one of the world’s largest and most well-managed operators decides to roll out LTE across the entire United States it’s obviously very important,” he told DI.

SWEDEN AND UKRAINE

Ericsson suspends all Russia operations indefinitely

Swedish network equipment maker Ericsson said Monday that it was suspending all of its Russian operations over the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

Published: 11 April 2022 19:42 CEST
Ericsson suspends all Russia operations indefinitely

The telecom giant already announced in late February that it would stop all deliveries to Russia following Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“In the light of recent events and of European Union sanctions, the company will now suspend its affected business with customers in Russia indefinitely,” Ericsson said in a statement.

The company added that it was “engaging with customers and partners regarding the indefinite suspension of the affected business.”

“The priority is to focus on the safety and well-being of Ericsson employees in Russia and they will be placed on paid leave,” it said.

READ ALSO: How has Sweden responded to Putin’s war in Ukraine so far?

Hundreds of Western firms ranging from Ikea to Coca-Cola, Goldman Sachs and McDonald’s have stopped operations in the country since the invasion, with French banking group Societe Generale announcing Monday it was selling its stake in Russia’s Rosbank.

Ericsson has around 600 employees in Russia, and is a “major supplier to the largest operator MTS and the fourth largest operator Tele2,” a company spokeswoman told AFP, adding that together with Ukraine, Russia accounts for less than two percent of revenue.

As a result, the equipment maker said it would record a provision for 900 million Swedish kronor ($95 million, 87 million euros) for the first quarter of 2022 for “impairment of assets and other exceptional costs,” though no staff redundancy costs were included.
Ericsson is due to publish its first quarter earnings on April 14.

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