Europe is too slow in moving to 5G, Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm told the annual meeting, pointing to 5G deals and a focused strategy as well as continued investment as good for his business.
"I'm very pleased that Ericsson returned to growth in 2018," he says, noting that full-year sales rose by 1% (to 210.8B kronor). "And we managed to increase our market share, despite difficult market conditions."
Buildout of 5G networks is under way, but slower in Europe, he notes, with more than half of the continent yet to allocate needed licenses.
"The process for spectrum allocation in Europe is often aimed at maximizing the revenues from licenses," he says. "Instead, the process should focus on the value created by a digitalized society and how that contributes to the overall competitiveness of a country."
The company has 16 commercial deals with named service providers for 5G networks, and the company's in a good position to help customers switch, Ekholm says. Ericsson's Radio System hardware has been 5G-ready since 2015 and can be New Radio-enabled remotely via software. "In fact, we have shipped more than 3 million 5G-ready radios to our customers worldwide, giving our customers a strong platform for launching 5G."
