Ericsson at MWC 2017: Pioneering 5G and Business Transformation

• President and CEO Börje Ekholm sets tone for Ericsson's position and strengths in the industry.
• New cases presented showcasing partnerships and innovative solutions towards digital frontier - 5G, media and IoT capabilities at forefront.
• T-Mobile, Telstra, Fox Innovation Lab and Scania join Ericsson onstage for Media & Analyst briefing .
• 5G New Radio (NR) trials announced with Qualcomm and customers NTT DoCoMo, Telstra and Vodafone
  The company’s delegation with numerous customers visited MWC 2017, where the achievements of the company’s experts were presented.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) opened Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 with three stand-out announcements featuring partners and major customers. These included network evolution towards 5G; an innovative new business model between content owners and operators to bring media to people more conveniently; and industry transformation in the transport sector.

During the Media & Analyst briefing on Monday, February 27, Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm said: "We are currently working to set the future direction of Ericsson. It takes grit and grace - and team spirit - to succeed on the digital frontier.  We will relentlessly push the technology frontier -  and always ask ourselves how we can make our customers more successful. We know that it is what our customers expect from us, what they need from us in order for us to be their best partner also in the future.

"At Mobile World Congress 2017, we are showing that our capabilities in 5G and those within media and transport industries, for example, are out front and market-leading.  We are ready today. We have the full ecosystem of partners and customers selecting us to deliver high-performance networks, media solutions, and business models in industries such as transport," he continued.

Following up Ericsson's launch of a suite of 5G products and services coming to market in 2017, Ekholm announced new 5G New Radio (NR) trials in partnership with Qualcomm: NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and Telstra Australia. 
Ekholm said: "5G will transform all industries, and our customers are already gearing up for the future by evolving their current 4G networks. This is the key foundation to enable the automation and business transformation needed for the Internet of Things, as well as data-hungry services like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality."  In a new study, Ericsson foresees a 1.23 USD trillion market in 2026 to be addressed by 5G. Ekholm said: "This means that industries see the value of 5G and we will be there to grasp that opportunity."

Ekholm was joined onstage by Telstra CEO Andy Penn, who said that 5G was an essential enabler for future services, and focused especially on the new media solution announced in collaboration with Ericsson and Fox Innovation Lab. Hanno Basse, CTO of 21st Century Fox and Managing Director of Fox Innovation Lab, also joined Ekholm and Penn onstage, saying the solution will set the industry trend by bringing new content to subscribers in a fast, convenient way.

T-Mobile's CTO, Neville Ray, talked about his own company's plans to fortify their current LTE network in readiness for 5G. Ray said: "T-Mobile's LTE network is the most advanced in the US and we'll continue to deploy the latest, global leading technologies that will create the foundation of a powerful 5G network built for mobility. We work closely with strategic partners like Ericsson to deliver the most advanced technologies that enhance our customers' experience."
5G will be the technology to pioneer transformation across all industries, and one part of Ericsson's Hall 2 that is impossible to miss is the Scania semi-truck cab. It served as the backdrop to announce a new Connected Vehicle Marketplace, with Scania CEO Henrik Henriksson as guest.

Finally, Ekholm invited visitors to try out all of the 70+ demonstrations that Ericsson is showing in its Hall 2 at Fira Gran Via, including the tactile internet and Virtual Reality experiences.
 
Ericsson Nikola Tesla Delegation and Its Customers Visit MWC 2017
 
Ericsson Nikola Tesla delegation, headed by the president of the company Gordana Kovačević, MSc, together with numerous customers visited Ericsson’s exhibition stand (Hall 2). Domestic customers, such as HT and Vipnet, as well as foreign operators from a number of markets; BH Telekom, HT Mostar, Crnogorski Telekom, beCloud, UCOM, Vega, MTS and IDC (Moldova) were presented leading Ericsson’s solution they have interest in. The company’s delegation engaged in a number of media activities, where, among other, special attention was given to digital transformation, in which the company is deeply involved, as well as to the road towards 5G, on which Ericsson Nikola Tesla experts play an important role.

The contribution by the company’s experts, who are actively involved in the research and development of communication technologies, was visible at this year’s Mobile World Congress as well, with regard to the backbone of Ericsson’s offer aimed at datacenters for work in a cloud characterized by high scalability. Hyperscale Datacenter System (HDS 8000) enables rapid creation, development and management of services in private, public or hybrid cloud environment, and offers business subjects of different sizes excellent performance accompanied by cost-effectiveness.
Another solution that was presented was the optimization of video content within the framework of Ericsson’s cooperation with the leading Chinese video streaming service (iQIYI) and the most important telecom operator – China Unicom. In this project, Ericsson Nikola Tesla experts, who are globally responsible in Ericsson for the said service, were the ones who played a key role. In this way, iQIYI users are provided with a better user experience, to China Unicom’s great satisfaction. This was yet another acknowledgment of the level of expertise of company’s team, who is –owing to the team members’ competence – unique on a global level. 
  
Communications  Ericsson Nikola Tesla