Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, often simply called Ericsson, is a big Swedish company that helps people and businesses connect through phones and the internet. It was started in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson in Stockholm, and today it is one of the most important companies in the world for making and selling equipment that lets phones talk to each other. Ericsson played a huge role in creating Bluetooth, the technology that lets devices like headphones and speakers connect without wires.

Ericsson makes many kinds of technology, including the equipment that helps cell phone companies give people service. This includes the latest 5G technology, which makes internet speeds much faster. The company works in over 180 countries and has more than 57,000 patents, which are ideas or inventions that only they can use.

Today, Ericsson employs around 100,000 people and sells its products all over the world. The company is controlled by two big Swedish groups, the Wallenberg family and Handelsbanken, which help guide how the company grows and changes. Ericsson’s work has shaped how we use phones and the internet for more than 100 years.

History

Foundation

Lars Magnus Ericsson started working with telephones when he was young, making tools for a company that built equipment for Sweden’s telegraph system. In 1876, he opened a small shop to fix telephones in Stockholm with a friend. By 1878, he began making and selling his own telephone equipment. His phones weren’t very new technologically, but he started selling them to Sweden’s first telephone company.

International expansion

As Ericsson grew in the late 1800s, it began selling phones in other countries. Early markets included the United Kingdom and Russia, where factories were built to better serve local customers. The Nordic countries also became important customers. Later, Ericsson’s products reached places like Australia, New Zealand, South America, South Africa, and China. However, Ericsson struggled to succeed in the United States, where other companies dominated the market. Eventually, Ericsson sold its U.S. business. Lars Ericsson left the company in 1901 as it became international.

Automatic equipment

Ericsson mostly focused on manual telephone systems and didn’t quickly adopt automatic, or dial, telephone systems popular in the United States. Their first dial telephone came in 1921, but it took time for these systems to catch on. World War I, the Great Depression, and losing assets in Russia slowed growth during this time.

Shareholding changes

In 1925, Karl Fredric Wincrantz took control of Ericsson, helped by investor Ivar Kreuger. The company was renamed Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson.

Wallenberg era begins

Ericsson was saved from closing by banks, including Stockholms Enskilda Bank and others controlled by the Wallenberg family. Marcus Wallenberg Jr. helped reorganize the company’s finances. The Wallenberg family eventually took full control.

Market development

In the 1920s and 1930s, many governments organized telephone systems, combining small local systems into larger networks. Ericsson won some of these contracts, increasing its sales.

Further development

Ericsson created the world’s first fully automatic mobile phone system in 1956 and one of the first hands-free speaker phones in the 1960s. They also introduced the Ericofon phone in 1954 and used crossbar switching in many countries. In 1983, they launched the ERIPAX network products.

Emergence of the Internet (1995–2003)

In the 1990s, Ericsson was slow to adapt to the Internet but started an Internet project in 1995. By 1997, they had a large share of the global mobile market. They worked on new mobile technologies like WCDMA for 3G networks. However, in 2001, Ericsson faced big financial losses, especially in mobile phones. They cut jobs and restructured, spinning off their phone business into a joint venture with Sony. The company survived and later grew as mobile Internet took off.

Rebuilding and growing (2003–2018)

After 3G mobile Internet began, Ericsson grew again. They developed new technologies like HSPA for faster mobile broadband. In 2016, Hans Vestberg left as CEO and was replaced by Börje Ekholm in 2017.

Acquisitions and cooperation

Ericsson partnered with companies like Microsoft and Nokia, and bought several other companies to grow its technology and services. They made many changes and acquisitions over the years to stay competitive in the fast-growing telecom world.

Corporate governance

As of 2016, the board of directors of LM Ericsson included several leaders such as Leif Johansson, Jacob Wallenberg, and others. These board members help guide the company and make important decisions for its future.

Research and development

Ericsson organizes its research and development in three levels based on when new products or technologies will be introduced to customers. Its research team is part of 'Group Function Technology' and works on many parts of network design, including wireless networks, broadband technologies, multimedia, and software services. Since 2012, Sara Mazur has led the research efforts.

Ericsson works with major universities such as Lund University in Sweden, Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, and the Beijing Institute of Technology in China. The company also partners in European research programs and holds many important patents for mobile technologies. In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) listed Ericsson as 7th in the world for patent applications, with 1,863 applications that year.

Ericsson has programs to support developers and encourage new ideas, including Ericsson Developer Connection and Ericsson Labs. In May 2022, Ericsson joined with Intel to create better Cloud RAN solutions. They started a technology center in California, USA, to improve energy efficiency, network performance, and create new business chances.

Products and services

Ericsson creates technology and services to help phone companies and businesses connect people. They build the equipment and software that make mobile and fixed networks work, helping people stay in touch.

Their main areas include building networks for mobile phones, offering digital services like managing networks and billing, and providing managed services in over 180 countries. Ericsson also helps with television and media services, managing live and pre-recorded shows and providing support for things like subtitles and sign language.

Divested businesses

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) was a partnership between Ericsson and Sony. It made mobile phones, accessories, and PC cards. Sony Ericsson handled design, development, marketing, sales, and customer service. In February 2012, Sony bought the whole company, renamed it Sony Mobile Communications, and moved its headquarters to Japan.

As part of this partnership, Ericsson’s mobile phone production moved into Sony Ericsson in 2001. Here are some Ericsson-branded mobile phones:

• Ericsson GS88 – a 1997 mobile phone that was cancelled; Ericsson first used the term “Smartphone” for this model
• Ericsson GA628 – known for its Z80 CPU
• Ericsson SH888 – the first mobile phone with wireless modem capabilities
• Ericsson A1018 – a dualband cellphone that was easy to hack
• Ericsson A2618 & Ericsson A2628 – dualband cellphones with graphical LCD screens
• Ericsson PF768
• Ericsson GF768
• Ericsson DH318 – one of the earliest TDMA/AMPS phones in the USA
• Ericsson GH388
• Ericsson GF388
• Ericsson T10 – a colourful cellphone
• Ericsson T18 – a business version of the T10 with a flip design
• Ericsson T28 – a very slim telephone using lithium polymer batteries
• Ericsson T20s
• Ericsson T29s – similar to the T28s but with WAP support
• Ericsson T39 – similar to the T28 but with a GPRS modem, Bluetooth, and triband capabilities
• Ericsson T65
• Ericsson T66
• Ericsson T68m – the first Ericsson phone with a color display, later sold as the Sony Ericsson T68i
• Ericsson R250s Pro – a dust- and water-resistant telephone
• Ericsson R310s
• Ericsson R320s
• Ericsson R320s Titan – a special edition with a titanium front
• Ericsson R380 – the first cellphone to use the Symbian OS
• Ericsson R520m – similar to the T39 but with added features like a built-in speakerphone
• Ericsson R600

Other Ericsson products included:

• Ericsson Dialog
• Ericofon

Ericsson Mobile Platforms was merged with ST-NXP Wireless in 2009 to create a joint venture, which was later divested in 2013.

Ericsson Enterprise provided communication systems for businesses and institutions from 1983 until it was sold to Aastra in 2008. It made products for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), wireless local area networks, and mobile intranets.

Corruption

In 2019, Ericsson agreed to pay over $1.2 billion to settle investigations about unfair business practices. U.S. authorities said the company did bad things between 2000 and 2016 in several countries, including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kuwait, and Djibouti. Ericsson admitted to doing these wrong things to get better positions in the telecommunications industry.

In 2022, a report showed more problems inside the company in at least 10 countries. Ericsson said there were serious mistakes in following company rules. The report also said that some workers for Ericsson paid bad groups to keep their networks running in parts of Iraq.