Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm has told shareholders that the coronavirus pandemic has had no impact on the company and that it would continue to support customers as much as possible during the outbreak.
Speaking at the firm’s Annual General Meeting, which was largely held remotely, Ekholm said Ericsson had had a strong year and that the current global situation demonstrated the importance of communications during a crisis.
”Our top priority at the moment is the health and safety of our employees, customers, and other stakeholders. So far, we have not seen any material impact on our business, but we are closely following the developments in society," he said.
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Ericsson coronavirus
The pandemic comes at a time when operators around the world are investing in 5G equipment. There have been concerns that rollouts could be impacted by government restrictions while communications providers inevitably might be focusing on ensuring their existing infrastructure can support the additional demands being placed on it.
However Ekholm said 5G adoption had so far exceeded its expectations and that it was in a strong cash position to weather any disruption.
“Last year we talked about switching on 5G globally,” he continued. “Today, we can say that we have succeeded. The world’s first 5G network was launched with Ericsson’s technology and the same was true for the first network in Europe.”
“Right now we have 86 commercial 5G agreements and 27 live networks in 4 continents. Ericsson is leading the 5G development. I see no one in front of us.”
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