Sweden's Ericsson sees 190 million 5G subscriptions by year end

STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Ericsson has almost doubled its global forecast for 5G mobile subscriptions to 190 million by the end of this year, due to faster than expected uptake in China.

The telecoms equipment maker, which had previously forecast 100 million subscriptions by the end of 2020, said it had made small downward adjustments for other parts of the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"For example, several spectrum auctions in Europe have been delayed, with a slower uptake of 5G subscriptions in the near term expected as a result," it said in its biannual Mobility Report.

Ericsson nudged down its 5G subscriptions forecast for 2020 and 2021 in North America, but maintained 2025 forecasts for both Europe and North America.

It also confirmed it had raised its forecast for global 5G subscriptions to 2.8 billion by 2025, or around 30 percent of all mobile subscriptions, from 2.6 billion previously.

"Despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, service providers continued to switch on 5G, and more than 75 of them have now announced commercial 5G service launches," Ericsson said.

The mobile network industry has faced waning demand for 4G and older network equipment, but 5G spending in North America has helped to fuel a return to growth.

Ericsson, which competes with China's Huawei and Finland's Nokia, said 4G would remain the dominant mobile access technology by subscriptions during 2020 to 2025, with 5.1 billion in 2022 and 4.4 billion expected by the end of 2025.

But in 2025, 5G networks will carry nearly half of the world’s mobile data traffic, it forecast.

The new generation of mobile phone technology will bring faster data speeds and support a greater variety of connected devices. 

-reuters-

Sweden's Ericsson to pay $1 billion over bribery allegations: US gov't

WASHINGTON - Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve allegations of bribery spanning Asia and the Middle East, the US Justice Department announced Friday.

An Egyptian subsidiary also pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York to a charge of conspiring to violate the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

"Ericsson's corrupt conduct involved high-level executives and spanned 17 years and at least five countries, all in a misguided effort to increase profits," Brian Benczkowski, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement.

US law grants jurisdiction over corruption by companies whose shares are sold on American stock markets or if the crime touches the country's territory or its financial system.

Prosecutors say that between 2000 and 2016, the company engaged in a scheme to pay bribes, falsify its books and records and ensure company officials turned a blind eye to the corruption, according to the Justice Department statement.

Alleged corruption occurred in Djibouti, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Kuwait.

Among other examples, Ericsson admitted that during those years it channeled tens of millions of dollars through consultants and service providers in China, creating a slush fund to lavish gifts, travel and entertainment on foreign officials in order to win business from state-owned telecoms companies.

In a statement on its website, the company said it would not comment on the matter other than to say the figure of $1.2 billion, disclosed in September, "is still its current estimate of the amounts needed to cover the monetary sanctions" and other costs.

The funds are to be split between the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Justice Department.

The two agencies jointly enforce US foreign bribery laws.

The company has also agreed to retain a third-party monitor to oversee its compliance for three years.

A total of 44 countries have enacted laws criminalizing the payment of bribes to foreign officials to win business, but the United States has long been the most active in punishing international corruption.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Why Apple is suing Ericsson

Apple Inc. sued Ericsson alleging that the Swedish company's LTE wireless technology patents are not essential to industry cellular standards and that it is demanding excessive royalties for these patents.

The iPhone maker said it has not infringed on the patents and does not owe royalties for them.

Apple says that the mobile telecoms gear maker is seeking royalties for the LTE technology calculated as a percentage of the price of the entire smartphone or tablet.

The royalties should be based on the value of the processor chip that includes the technology, Apple said in the lawsuit filed in a federal court in California.

If Ericsson's patents are deemed essential and the court rules Apple has infringed on them, Apple said it wants the court to assign a reasonable royalty rate.

"We've always been willing to pay a fair price to secure the rights to standards essential patents covering technology in our products. Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree with Ericsson on a fair rate for their patents so, as a last resort, we are asking the courts for help," said Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet.

Apple and Ericsson currently have a license agreement that covers many of Ericsson's allegedly standard-essential patents. The agreement was signed in 2008 soon after Apple launched the iPhone, according to the court filing.

Representatives at Ericsson were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

The case is in the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California, Apple Inc v. Ericsson, case no: CV-15-0154.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com