Ericsson facts for kids
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Ericsson's headquarters in Kista, Stockholm
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| ISIN | [https://kids.kiddle.co/index.php?title=Toollabs:isin/&language=de&isin=%3Cdiv+class%3D%22plainlist+%22+%3E%0A%2A+%5B%5BInternational+Securities+Identification+Number%7CISIN%5D%5D%3A+%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fisin.toolforge.org%2F%3Flanguage%3Den%26isin%3DSE0000108649+SE0000108649%5D%0A%2A+%5B%5BInternational+Securities+Identification+Number%7CISIN%5D%5D%3A+%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fisin.toolforge.org%2F%3Flanguage%3Den%26isin%3DSE0000108656+SE0000108656%5D%0A%0A%3C%2Fdiv%3E
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| Founded | Stockholm, Sweden (1876) |
| Founder | Lars Magnus Ericsson |
| Headquarters | Kista, Stockholm, Sweden |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products | Mobile and fixed broadband networks, consultancy and managed services, TV and multimedia technology |
| Revenue |  263.351 billion kr (2023) |
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Operating income
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–20.326 billion kr* (2023) |
| –26.104 billion kr* (2023) |
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| Total assets | 297.036 billion kr (2023) |
| Total equity | 97.408 billion kr (2023) |
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Number of employees
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100,000 (2023) |
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| Footnotes / references *Due to a non-cash impairment charge of 32 billion kr attributed to the acquisition of Vonage. |
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Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, usually called Ericsson, is a big company from Sweden. It works all over the world. Ericsson makes the tools, software, and services that help phone companies and businesses connect people. This includes the equipment for 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile networks.
The company has about 100,000 employees and works in more than 180 countries. Ericsson has invented many things and holds over 57,000 patents. It has played a huge part in making the telecommunications industry what it is today, especially with 5G technology.
Lars Magnus Ericsson started the company in 1876. Today, it is mainly controlled by the Wallenberg family and the Handelsbanken bank. Ericsson also invented Bluetooth technology!
Contents
History of Ericsson
How Ericsson Started
Lars Magnus Ericsson started working with telephones when he was young. He fixed telegraph equipment for the Swedish government. In 1876, when he was 30, he opened a small shop in Stockholm with his friend Carl Johan Andersson. They fixed telephones made by other companies.
By 1878, Ericsson began making and selling his own telephone equipment. His telephones were not totally new ideas, but they worked well. That same year, he agreed to provide telephones and switchboards to Sweden's first phone company.
Growing Around the World
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In the late 1890s, Ericsson started selling its products in other countries. The company built factories in places like the UK and Russia. This helped them get more local deals and make more products. The UK's National Telephone Company was a big customer. By 1897, Ericsson sold 28% of its products there. Other countries like Australia and New Zealand also became big customers.
Even though Ericsson did well in many places, it didn't sell much in the United States. Other companies like Western Electric and Kellogg already controlled that market. Ericsson eventually sold its business in the U.S. By 1901, Lars Ericsson stepped down from leading the company, which had become a global business.
Automatic Telephones and Changes
For a while, Ericsson focused on manual phone systems. Their first dial telephone came out in 1921. Early automatic systems were slow to sell until they proved reliable. Telephones from this time had simpler designs.
Big events like World War I and the Great Depression slowed down the company's growth. Sales to other countries dropped by about half.
New Owners Take Over
In 1925, Karl Fredric Wincrantz took control of Ericsson by buying most of its shares. He got some money from a financier named Ivar Kreuger. The company's name was changed to Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson.
Ericsson faced financial trouble, but Swedish banks, including Stockholms Enskilda Bank (now Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken), helped save it. The Wallenberg family played a key role in this. They slowly bought more shares. By 1960, the Wallenberg family bought all the shares from another large owner, ITT, and has controlled Ericsson ever since.
Developing New Technologies
In the 1920s and 1930s, many governments started to organize phone markets. Ericsson got some contracts to run phone services, which also helped them sell more equipment.
Ericsson created the world's first fully automatic mobile phone system in 1956, called MTA. In the 1960s, they released one of the first hands-free speakerphones. In 1954, they launched the Ericofon, a famous one-piece telephone.
The Internet Era (1995–2003)
When the internet started to grow in the 1990s, Ericsson was a bit slow to see its full potential. However, they started a project in 1995 called Infocom Systems to explore internet opportunities.
The GSM mobile standard became very popular worldwide. By 1997, Ericsson had about 40% of the world's mobile market. Many companies worked to bring internet to mobile phones. Early versions, like GPRS, were basic and didn't become very popular.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) created rules for 3G mobile services. Ericsson strongly supported the WCDMA version, which was based on GSM. They started testing it in 1996. Japanese company NTT Docomo partnered with Ericsson and Nokia to support WCDMA. Docomo was the first to launch a live 3G network.
In 2001, Ericsson faced financial challenges. Sales to phone companies dropped. Their mobile phone unit lost a lot of money. A fire at a chip factory also caused problems for Ericsson's phone production. In October 2001, Ericsson decided to combine its mobile phone business with Sony, creating Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
Ericsson had to make many changes, including reducing staff. By 2003, they had cut thousands of jobs. The company survived, and as mobile internet grew, Ericsson found itself in a stronger position than many of its rivals.
Growth and New Partnerships (2003–2018)
The rise of full mobile internet led to a period of growth for the telecom industry, including Ericsson. After 3G services launched in 2003, more people started using the internet on their phones.
Ericsson worked to improve WCDMA technology. New developments included High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which brought the world's first mobile broadband.
In July 2016, Hans Vestberg stepped down as Ericsson's CEO. Börje Ekholm became the new CEO in January 2017.
Working with Other Companies
Around 2000, companies and governments started to create standards for mobile internet. In May 2000, the European Commission brought together Ericsson, Nokia, Alcatel, and Siemens to develop new wireless communication systems.
In December 1999, Microsoft and Ericsson announced a partnership to combine their web software with Ericsson's mobile internet technology. In 2000, Intel signed a big deal to provide memory chips to Ericsson.
The partnership with Microsoft was short-lived. In October 2001, Ericsson and Sony created the mobile phone company Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications. Ten years later, in 2012, Ericsson sold its share in Sony Ericsson to focus on the wider wireless market.
Many telecom companies faced difficulties in 2001, leading to job cuts. Ericsson's global workforce decreased. In 2005, Ericsson bought most of the UK telecom company Marconi Company. In 2006, Ericsson sold its defense business, which made sensor and radar systems, to Saab AB.
Ericsson continued to acquire other companies to expand its services. In 2007, they bought Redback Networks, which made internet routers. In 2009, they bought parts of Nortel's business, a big telecom company. They also acquired companies like Telcordia Technologies (for operations support) and Red Bee Media (for media management).
In 2020, Ericsson bought Cradlepoint, a US company that makes equipment for wireless carriers. In 2021, Ericsson announced it would buy Vonage for $6.2 billion, completing the deal in 2022. In 2024, Ericsson and MTN Group expanded their partnership to improve mobile financial services in Africa.
How Ericsson is Managed
As of 2016, Ericsson's board of directors included people like Leif Johansson, Jacob Wallenberg, and Börje Ekholm. These people help guide the company's decisions.
Research and Development
Ericsson has a special team that focuses on R&D. They work on new products and technologies for the future. This team is part of 'Group Function Technology'. They study things like wireless networks, broadband, and security.
Ericsson works with many universities and research groups around the world, like Lund University in Sweden and Beijing Institute of Technology in China. Ericsson holds many patents, especially for mobile technologies like GSM, WCDMA, and LTE. In 2021, Ericsson was ranked 6th in the world for the number of patent applications published.
Ericsson also has programs to encourage new ideas. The Ericsson Developer Connection helps people create apps and services. Ericsson Labs is a place for testing new apps and tools. The company even holds internal competitions for its employees to come up with new innovations.
In May 2022, Ericsson and Intel teamed up to create better Cloud RAN solutions. They opened a tech hub in California to work on making networks more energy-efficient and faster.
Products and Services
Ericsson's business includes researching new technologies, developing network systems and software, and managing operations for phone companies. Ericsson offers services for all major mobile communication standards. It has three main business units:
Business Area Networks
This unit creates network equipment for mobile and fixed connections. Their products include radio base stations and other tools that help phone companies upgrade their networks from 2G to 3G, and then to 4G and 5G.
Ericsson's network division has been a leader in developing 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE, and 5G technology. They also work on older technologies like GSM and CDMA. Their products include microwave transport, internet networks, and different types of radio access networks.
Network Services
Ericsson also provides services to help phone companies set up and manage their networks. This includes deploying new technology, transforming networks, and optimizing how they work.
Business Area Digital Services
This unit provides core network services, like managing networks and analyzing data. They also offer business support systems, such as billing services. This unit also has an m-Commerce offering, which helps phone companies work with banks and other financial groups. Ericsson has deals with companies like Western Union and MTN for mobile financial services.
Business Area Managed Services
This unit operates in 180 countries. It provides managed services, which means Ericsson helps run parts of other companies' networks. They also offer consulting, network design, and support services.
Ericsson also works with TV and media companies, public safety organizations, and utility providers. Ericsson says it manages networks for over 1 billion phone users worldwide.
Broadcast Services
Ericsson's Broadcast Services unit became a separate company called Red Bee Media. This company helps broadcast live and recorded TV shows, including showing trailers and providing subtitles or sign language interpreters. They also help manage and deliver media over the internet.
Past Businesses
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications
Sony Ericsson was a company created with Sony in 2001. It made mobile phones, accessories, and computer cards. Sony Ericsson was in charge of designing, marketing, and selling these products. In 2012, Sony bought Ericsson's share, and the company became Sony Mobile Communications.
Ericsson Mobile Phones
Before Sony Ericsson, Ericsson made its own mobile phones. Here are a few examples:
- Ericsson GS88 – This phone was planned to be the first "Smartphone."
- Ericsson SH888 – The first mobile phone with wireless modem features.
- Ericsson T28 – A very thin phone that used new battery technology.
- Ericsson T39 – Similar to the T28, but with GPRS (early mobile internet) and Bluetooth.
- Ericsson T68m – The first Ericsson phone with a color screen.
- Ericsson R380 – The first phone to use the Symbian OS operating system.
Ericsson Telephones
Ericsson also made landline telephones, such as:
- Ericsson Dialog
- Ericofon – A famous one-piece telephone.
Ericsson Mobile Platforms
This company existed for eight years. In 2009, Ericsson announced it would combine this business with ST-NXP Wireless to create a new company.
Ericsson Enterprise
From 1983, Ericsson Enterprise provided communication systems for businesses, public groups, and schools. They made products for internet-based phone calls (VoIP) and wireless internet (WLAN). In 2008, this part of the company was sold to Aastra.
See also
- Cedergren
- Damovo
- Ericsson Nikola Tesla
- Erlang (programming language)
- Investor AB
- List of networking hardware vendors
- List of Sony Ericsson products
- Red Jade
- Tandberg Television
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