Ericsson to increase US investment ahead of 5G

Ericsson has stated that it is upping its investment in the United States digital communications market to support the “accelerated build out of 5G” in the country.

According to a statement, the investment will take the form of an increase in research and development work on the one hand, and what the company refers to as an increase in “flexibility” to speed-up product development on the other.

The research and development aspect will in part take the form of a new baseband-focussed software centre, employing more than 200 engineers and opening in 2018. The company will also recruit a dedicated team to work specifically on introducing products to the US market.

Speaking of the move, Börje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, said: “The United States is our largest market, accounting for a quarter of Ericsson’s business over the last seven years.

“To serve the demand of fast-moving service providers, we are strengthening our investment in the US to be even closer to our customers and meet their accelerated 5G deployment plans.”

The company predicts that US 5G subscriptions will reach the 150 million-mark by the end of 2023, accounting for 48 percent of all mobile business.