ERICSSON

'Ericsson' (''Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson'') .
Founded in 1876, Ericsson is a leading provider of communications networks, related services and handset technology platforms. Through their Sony Ericsson joint venture, they are also a major provider of handsets.
Headquartered in Kista, Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is considered to be part of the so-called Wireless Valley.

History

Beginnings

Lars Magnus Ericsson

It all began in the year 1875, in a 13-square meter repair workshop for telegraph instruments in downtown Stockholm. 30-year-old mechanic Lars Magnus Ericsson laid the foundation for one of the world's leading telecommunication companies with his former work colleague Carl Johan Andersson. It was, coincidentally, the same year that Alexander Graham Bell filed his patent application for a telephone in the United States.
Follow the amazing story in which Ericsson starts off by repairing foreign-made telephones but soon starts making and selling his own telephones, then a few years later forms an agreement to supply telephones and switchboards to Sweden's first telecom operating company, Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag.
That was only the beginning of Ericsson’s achievements in the area of telecommunications. L M Ericsson's repair shop is now a worldwide telecom supplier. Some periods have been characterized by struggles, economic crises, or conflict such as the Second World War. You will read about the first automatic switching system, the very popular all in one telephone set known as the Cobra, the revolutionary computer controlled-switch AXE, launched in 1975 and the mobile telephone breakthrough that has led to today's high-speed communication with 3G technology.

Share ownership

Ericsson's former Headquarters at Telefonplan in Stockholm

In 1925 Karl Fredric Wincrantz took control of the company by acquiring the majority of the shares in the company. The company was also renamed ''Telefon AB LM Ericsson''. At this time, Ivar Kreuger started showing interest in the company, being a major owner of Wincrantz holding companies.
In 1928 Ericsson began its long tradition of "A" and "B" shares, where an "A" share comes with 1000 votes against a "B" share, so Wincrantz was actually only controlling a few "A" shares, giving him control of the company whilst not actually controlling a majority of the shares. By issuing a lot of "B" shares, much more money was fed to the company, while maintaining the ''status quo'' of power distribution.
In 1930 a second issue of "B"-shares took place, resulting in Kreuger taking over the company with a mixture of "A" and "B" shares. He bought these shares with money lent from Ericsson, with security given in German state bonds. He then took a large loan for his own company Kreuger & Toll from ITT (administered by Sosthenes Behn) giving large parts of Ericsson as security. When Behn wanted to cancel this deal in 1932, he discovered the fact that there was no money left in the company, just a large claim on the same Kreuger & Toll that he had himself lent money to. Kreuger had effectively bought Ericsson with its own money. After Kreuger's suicide in 1932, ITT owned one third of Ericsson, but was forbidden to exercise this ownership because of a paragraph in the articles of association stating that no foreign investor was allowed to control more than 20% of the votes.
While Ericsson came close to filing for bankruptcy in 1932, this did not happen. Instead Marcus Wallenberg (jr) negotiated a deal with several Swedish banks to rebuild Ericsson financially. One of them, Stockholms Enskilda Bank, together with other Swedish investment banks controlled by the Wallenberg family, then gradually increased its possession of Ericsson "A" shares, with ITT still being the single largest owner. In 1960 the Wallenberg family finally struck a deal with ITT to buy their shares in Ericsson and the company has since then been controlled by the Wallenberg family, i.e. a part of the "Wallenberg sphere".

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Ericsson are: Monica Bergström, Peter Bonfield, Kristina Davidsson, Börje Ekholm, Anna Guldstrand, Jan Hedlund, Katherine Hudson, Ulf Johansson, Per Lindh, Sverker Martin-Löf, Nancy McKinstry, Torbjörn Nyman, Anders Nyrén, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Michael Treschow and Marcus Wallenberg.

Products and services

Mobile and fixed networks

Mobile access

Ericsson is a provider in the area of 2G (GSM) and 3G (WCDMA/HSPA) mobile networks. Ericsson is actively involved in the development of standards for the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) of 3G.

Fixed broadband access

The expansion of Ericsson's fixed broadband offering is an important step to address network operators as they begin integrating their fixed and mobile networks.

IP core network (switching, routing, control and transport)

Ericsson's core network solutions include softswitch, IP infrastructure, IMS, media gateways and microwave and optical transport solutions to provide management of voice and data traffic.

Multimedia services and applications

Relationships with content and application partners enable Ericsson to deliver such solutions for mobile multimedia.

Services

By outsourcing certain activities to Ericsson, operators focus on their core business of attracting, serving and retaining customers. Ericsson's services organization has 24,000 professionals in 140 countries.

★ Managed services

★ Systems integration

★ Consulting and education

★ Customer support

★ Network rollout

★ Home internet Solution

Segment Other Operations

Ericsson provides several other complementary technical solutions.

Ericsson Mobile Platforms

Ericsson Mobile Platforms is a supplier of technology platforms (GSM/GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA) for mobile handsets and PC cards.

Ericsson Network Technologies

Ericsson Network Technologies (Cables) is a provider of copper and fiber cables for telecommunications and power networks.

★ AXE telephone exchange

★ Base Transceiver Station

★ Network Switching Subsystem

Ericsson Enterprise

Ericsson Enterprise provides communications systems and services that enable businesses, public entities and educational institutions to have access to applications and services across multiple locations.

Ericsson Power Modules

Ericsson Power Modules is a supplier of DC/DC power converters and regulators, mainly to the communications industry.

Ericsson Microwave Systems

Ericsson Microwave Systems was sold to Saab AB in September 2006.

Cellular telephones

★ Ericsson GA628 - known for its z80 CPU

★ Ericsson A1018 - dualband cellphone, notably easy to hack. First to use graphical LCD display.

★ Ericsson T28 - Very slim and sophisticated phone. Uses advanced lithium polymer batteries. [''Ericsson T28'' FAQ]

★ Ericsson T39 - Similar to the T28, but with a GPRS modem and triband capabilities.

★ Ericsson T66

★ Ericsson T68 - first with color display, later branded as Sony Ericsson T68i

★ Ericsson R310s

★ Ericsson R380 - First cellphone to use Symbian OS

★ Ericsson R520 - Similar to the T39, but in a candybar form factor and with added convenience features such as a built-in speakerphone and an optical proximity sensor

★ Ericsson R600

Telephones

★ Ericsson Dialog

★ Ericofon

External links

★ Ericsson - Official site

★ Sony Ericsson - Official site

★ Näringslivshistoria.se - The Ericsson Files

★ Yahoo! - Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Company Profile

★ Ericson historical stock chart by Gstock

★ Ericsson White Papers - Explaining Ericsson's views and position

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