Swedish telecommunications colossus
Ericsson has announced that it has successfully raised $370m in funding which it will use for 5G and other investments opportunities. Ericsson has endured a difficult number of years but is hedging its recovery on 5G. Its objective is to be at the forefront of the next-generation technology in a desperate attempt to curtail the financial difficulties it has been subjected to in the last number of years.
In an official statement, Ericsson announced that it had signed agreements for credit facilities with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) for $220m which will mature in 2023. In addition to this it also reached an agreement with AB Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) for $150m which will mature in 2023.
It has been claimed that the funds will be used to support research and development activities in relation to 5G, and other innovative new mobile technologies such as Internet of Things. Ericsson hopes that the significant amount of finance raised will solidify the company’s financial flexibility and balance sheet.
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden said the company is increasing its investments in 5G, IoT, and digital services as part of its focused strategy.
“Already now, the company is working with 38 operators worldwide on developing and preparing for 5G networks,” Ekudden said. “This is more than any other company. In the coming years, we will see 5G networks going live around the world, with major deployments from 2020 and we believe that there will be one billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2023. The technologies that we are investing in are fundamentally changing the way we innovate, collaborate, produce, live and do business.”
The news comes days after the 3GPP completed the first 5G New Radio (NR) specification which paved the way for full-scale development of the 5G mobile technology.