Development of the technology of the future requires broad collaborations
Like all established companies, we at Ericsson are in a rapid transition process given the speed of technology development. To some extent, we are used to reinventing and renewing ourselves because every generation of mobile networks - 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and 6G - basically becomes a completely new product family with us. What is a bit new with 5G is that we reach so many more uses, not only consumers with smartphones but pretty much all verticals. Therefore, we must quickly scale up contacts and collaborations with developers in the companies and organizations that build new solutions that benefit from 5G networks.
I work in Silicon Valley where I run our ecosystem work in what we call Ericsson D-15. It is a complete 5G lab where our partners in the US can develop new services and solutions together with us.
With the lab as a starting point, we work actively with the entire value chain for 5G, where our customers - the operators - are obvious and important parties. But in addition to this, there are manufacturers of user equipment (smartphones, robots, XR headsets, drones and more), suppliers of chipsets and semiconductors, cloud services, application developers and other actors required to build new services.
When we jointly create something new, it is important that the companies that enter into the projects are willing to take their own risk. Partly by financing their part of the project but also by sharing knowledge and data so that we have the opportunity to tune our network products so that new services work efficiently and smoothly on the 5G networks.
The potential for the technology development we are working on right now is enormous. For companies and consumers, the shift to 5G will be much bigger than the introduction of smartphones. Our motto at the company is "Imagine Possible" and it is exciting to think about what 5G can mean for the development of new advanced services in, for example, augmented reality, or as part of the solution to our major societal challenges in climate and sustainability.
It is fantastic that the Swedish telecom industry is positioning itself so well in an important growth sector. And it is clear that the development of future technology and solutions requires broad collaborations where all parties are involved and share information as well as risks and potential benefits.
At Industry Day on September 7, I will tell you more about how Ericsson works with collaboration and innovation processes and what I think will be the big news in the 5G revolution. I also look forward to discussing development issues with representatives from the Swedish ecosystem.
Jan Söderström
Head of Advanced Technology and Industry, U.S., Ericsson