Ericsson to beef up ties with Korean telecom firms

Published : Aug 12, 2015 - 16:56 Updated : Aug 12, 2015 - 16:56

From electronics makers to automotive manufacturers, businesses from more diverse backgrounds are jumping in the Internet of Things sector utilizing the fast network infrastructure.

Hans Vestberg, president and chief executive of ICT infrastructure developer Ericsson, said that such increasing participation of different market players would create a bigger “opportunity” down the road.

Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg (right) and Arun Bansal, head of the Swedish firm’s business unit radio division attend a press meeting in Seoul on Wednesday. (Ericsson)

“Internet firms and mobile carriers are going into the business for connected cars. Even though the fields of competition will be different, the opportunity will increase dramatically with the development of infrastructure,” the Ericsson CEO said in a press meeting held in Seoul Wednesday.

He also emphasized that cooperation is needed for the Stockholm-based firm to stay on top of the industry in the era of the next-generation network, vowing to further strengthen its ties with Korean partners including network operators like SK Telecom.

Ericsson holds a 75-percent share in Ericsson-LG, a joint venture established with tech giant LG Electronics in 2010.

He and top executives of the Swedish ICT equipment supplier, including Arun Bansal, head of the firm’s business unit radio, paid a visit to Seoul to discuss partnership for the 5G and IoT businesses with Korean partners.

Ericsson CTO Ulf Ewaldsson (left) and Arun Bansal, head of the Swedish firm’s business unit radio division attend a press meeting in Seoul on Wednesday.(Ericsson)

Chief technology officer Ulf Ewaldsson, who also attended the meeting, announced the firm’s “one network,” initiative that connects every device on single network.

Through the one network, the CTO explained, all clouds and devices -- whether they are remote robotics systems or home surveillance systems -- will run on one network.

“We are able to make slices of this network and make corridors that go directly from clouds out to devices,” the CTO said.

“(With the one network) People can open data in millisecond and close in millisecond in a safe manner anywhere and with any device.”

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)