Ericsson

Ericsson has been recognised as a Leader in 5G network infrastructure

Ericsson’s Leaders quadrant recognition in the February 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for 5G Network Infrastructure for Communication Service Providers (CSPs) report recognises the company’s Leader position in both completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Vendors offering 5G solutions for communications service providers were comprehensively and independently assessed and evaluated by Gartner experts on their completeness of vision and ability to execute to provide a market snapshot on 5G infrastructure abilities.

End-to-end 5G network infrastructure vendors were evaluated on how they enable IT provider performance to be competitive, efficient, and effective and to positively impact revenue, retention, and reputation within Gartner’s view of the market. The assessment of ability to execute included Ericsson’s products and services, Market Responsiveness and Track Record, Marketing Execution, Customer Experience, and Overall Viability.

Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of Networks, Ericsson, said: “From research to rollout, we have invested heavily in 5G to ensure we have the best products, skills, and field personnel to meet our customers’ needs. We believe that recognition as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant from Gartner reflects our technology leadership, market competitiveness, determination to innovate, and commitment to our customers.”

Gartner Magic Quadrant for 5G network infrastructure for communications service providers

Ericsson, as an industry leader in 5G networks, currently has more than 130 commercial 5G agreements with unique CSPs and powers 79 live 5G networks across the globe.

Ericsson continuously evolves its end-to-end 5G offerings, which include Ericsson Radio System, 5G Core, Orchestration and 5G Transport, as well as professional services. The company has introduced innovative software solutions such as Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, 5G carrier aggregation, and Uplink Booster, which significantly improve coverage, user throughput, and spectral efficiency.

These solutions support service providers in deploying and evolving 5G to ensure the best end-user experience. In addition, Ericsson Radio System products delivered since 2015 can support 5G New Radio (NR) capability through remote software installation.

Ericsson Digital Services offers a dual-mode 5G Core solution for smarter networks to drive smarter business, allowing communications service providers to offer a multitude of new business opportunities for mobile users and industries.

Ericsson’s 5G Core solution combines an Evolved Packet Core and 5G Core network functions into a common cloud-native platform that supports 5G NR Standalone and Non-standalone, plus 4G, 3G, and 2G.

Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business. It is designed to help the customers go digital, increase efficiency, and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s innovation investments have delivered the benefits of mobility and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and on Nasdaq New York.

The Hanoitimes – The ambassador suggested Vietnam develop a sustainable supporting industry, by increasing the competitiveness of the products, and advancing the efficiency of the production and automation processes.

To seize opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, Vietnam needs to develop a sustainable supporting industry, and in this regard, Sweden is much experienced and willing to assist Vietnam, Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe has stated.

Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe speaks at the workshop. Photo: Swedish Embassy

Addressing a workshop on enhancing competitiveness of the supporting industries in the context of supply chain diversification, hosted by the Swedish Embassy on October 27, the ambassador said: “Vietnam is in a unique position to strengthen its authority as a leading alternative manufacturing choice. However, Vietnam is facing a bigger challenge – increasing the value as part of the global supply chain, rather than increasing merely the trade volume.”

To make this happen, the ambassador suggested Vietnam develop a sustainable supporting industry, by increasing the competitiveness of the products, as well as advancing the efficiency of the production and automation processes. “In order to stay competitive and relevant, Vietnam needs to keep up with the latest trends and technologies in manufacturing.”

A view of the workshop. Photo: Swedish Embassy

Since Vietnam and Sweden established diplomatic relations in 1969, Swedish equipment and products of familiar names such as Volvo, ABB, Atlas Copco, Electrolux have been present in Vietnam, through early aid programs, and nowadays their direct investments.

Sweden is considered one of the most sustainable and innovative countries in the world, ranking second in the Global Innovation Index. Swedish companies have a long history of providing world-class solutions to manufacturing and industrial applications.

Among them, Ericsson is supporting the government of Vietnam to help accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0. Meanwhile, ABB has recently provided 1,200 robots for VinFast, an automotive subsidiary of conglomerate Vingroup.

Atlas Copco and Hexagon, with their solutions for the manufacturing sector, are also contributing greatly to the development of several projects in Vietnam. “These companies would welcome to be a part of Vietnam’s green recovery in the Post-Covid-19 era,” added the ambassador.

Ambassador Ann Måwe talks to participants. Photo: Swedish Embassy

At the workshop, participants, including ABB, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, Hexagon, Swedish’ leading financial guarantee providers, SEK (Swedish Export Credit Corporation) and EKN (Swedish Export Credit Agency), discussed developing a sustainable supporting industry by increasing the competitiveness of the products, as well as advancing the efficiency of the production process.

The workshop also discussed how Swedish enterprises can assist both in terms of technology and financing, so that Vietnam is best equipped to embrace Industry 4.0 and capture the opportunities that EVFTA and supply chain diversification will bring.

A Hexagon employee displays a robot arm at the workshop. Photo: Swedish Embassy

Within the workshop’s framework, an exhibition is open to the public, focusing on showcasing ABB’s Powertrain and Hexagon’s metrology devices.

The workshop ended with Vietnamese enterprises sharing on their company’s visions and challenges in the age of supply chain diversification, inciting opportunities for collaboration.

For business executives from both nations, the workshop offered an excellent platform to exchange ideas and perspectives and share best practices for mutual benefit. The objective is also to improve collaboration between Swedish and Vietnamese companies and to highlight the positive potential of Swedish products, solutions, ethical values, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and their positive potential for Vietnam.

Large scale 5G rollout is expected in Vietnam in 2021. Do you think that the existing 4G infrastructure is qualified enough to assist in wide implementation?

Denis Brunetti, president of Ericsson in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos

Vietnamese operators have showcased adequate preparedness in terms of infrastructure and network coverage to enable the commercial launch of 5G services later in 2021. We have proudly partnered with MobiFone, Vinaphone and Viettel in providing the 5G experience to the Vietnamese people across selected geographic areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Leveraging our 4G installed base across Vietnam, which is 5G ready, Ericsson is well positioned to enable service providers to seamlessly and efficiently transition from 4G to 5G.

What are some of the valuable activities Ericsson has been carrying out worldwide that Vietnam can learn from to find success on its digital infrastructure journey?

With over 67 per cent of multinational companies expected to relocate their manufacturing hubs to the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, we believe that Vietnam has a great opportunity of attracting much of this smart manufacturing investment. Ericsson has been deploying technology across the world to realise this vision of smart manufacturing, and we intend to bring the learnings from these use cases to Vietnam.

For example, Ericsson and Audi have been collaborating to expand the horizons of tomorrow’s factories with 5G tech. We have taken factory automation over a wireless network to the next level with 5G Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). Cutting the cables is the real game changer in enabling Industry 4.0 and with that, Ericsson and Audi successfully tested 5G URLLC capabilities with real-life industrial automation applications at an Ericsson lab last year. We also launched 5G car manufacturing in Germany with Vodafone and e.GO.

Elsewhere, Ericsson US’ 5G Smart Factory is part of a new wave of manufacturing plants that has the potential to add between $1.5-2.2 trillion to the global economy annually by 2023.

Here in Vietnam, we are also planning to invest in various smart city initiatives, partnering with other Swedish companies through ‘Business Sweden’ as well as our mobile operator customers.

Others global technology giants are gearing up their plans to expand in the local market. What makes Ericsson different from the rest?

Ericsson is a technology leader in 5G. Pioneering customers around the world have selected us as their 5G partner – today, we power 5G commercial live networks across five continents. We have close to 130 commercial 5G agreements or contracts with unique service providers, of which about 80 are live networks.

We have the right portfolio in place to enable customers to deploy 5G networks in all main frequency bands for global deployments and utilise their valuable spectrum assets in the fastest and most efficient way.

In total, we have shipped six million 5G-ready (hardware) radios to our customers since 2015, which gives us and our customers a unique advantage, including our mobile communication service provider customers in Vietnam. This is currently the most installed 5G-ready radios in the industry. This enables our customers to faster migrate to 5G and efficiently protects their past investments in 4G.

Ericsson has a portfolio that can adapt and scale to introduce the relevant capabilities that enterprises and industries require, from private networks designed to meet mission critical requirements to fast and secure wireless for Industry 4.0 use cases. Ericsson will continue to lead and play an active role in the development of ecosystems that work towards co-creating technological advancements and solutions that adds value to industry and society.

What are the latest preparations of Ericsson to further support Vietnam in the 5G rollout?

We are fully aligned with the recently released National Strategy for Industry 4.0, focusing on increasing the positive impact of the digital economy, industry digitalisation, smart city development, high-tech foreign investment, and elevated labour productivity growth rates and cybersecurity in this country.

5G mobile network capabilities will play a pivotal role in achieving this vision, supporting an accelerated adoption of Industry 4.0 across the nation. Vietnam has taken the right approach by aiming to initially deploy 5G in major urban areas and high growth industry zones, eventually bringing the benefits of digital transformation to key industries, such as manufacturing, transport, energy, healthcare, and agriculture.

People and enterprises are beginning to experience the benefits of a 5G for the first time and with it, we are moving technological boundaries forward to create the biggest innovation platform ever. We will see new consumer and enterprise/industry services, new use cases for the digitalisation of industries and new business opportunities across all economic sectors.

Ericsson recognises the need to lead the market in forging strategic 5G ecosystem partnerships that include cross-industry players, bringing them together with mobile service providers to deliver compelling digital transformation engagements and new revenue streams.

As a trusted long-term strategic partner in Vietnam’s ICT industry, we have been working with mobile communication service providers to ensure Vietnam is at the forefront of 5G developments in the region and globally, sharing our technical capabilities, market insights, and innovative thought leadership.

The Hanoitimes – Many European business leaders expect to increase their investment in the first quarter of this year, up from 20% in third quarter of 2020.

European business leaders are optimistic about Vietnam’s trade and investment environment in the first quarter of 2021 since the outbreak of Covid-19, according to the latest report released by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham).

European businesses are more positive about Vietnam investment environment in 2021. Photo: EuroCham

The Business Climate Index (BCI) conducted by YouGov Vietnam found that 57% of EuroCham members predicted “stabilization and improvement” about Vietnam’s economic prospects in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1). That compares to 39% in Q3 2020 – a rise in confidence of 18 percentage points. Only 10% of surveyed businesses believe that the economy is likely to deteriorate in Q1 2021.

While Covid-19 continues to develop new variants outside Vietnam, European businesses cautiously look forward to a great year ahead. “The continued upward trend in positive sentiment suggests a growing confidence in Vietnam’s trade and investment environment – standing in contrast to the situation elsewhere in the world,” Thue Quist Thomasen, CEO of YouGov Vietnam, added.

Source: EuroCham. Screenshot: Phi Nhat

According to the survey, in 2020, the optimistic sentiment of European businesses in Vietnam in Q3 was seen continued stabilizing and rising in Q4. This indicates a driver for growth in 2021 in general and Q1 in particular.

The European businesses are hopeful about the economy’s improvement, and about 30% of businesses plan to increase headcount and investment. More than 40% of business leaders forecast the volume and revenue of orders in Q1 2021 will increase moderately or significantly.

Source: EuroCham. Screenshot: Phi Nhat

“The latest BCI paints a positive picture of Vietnam’s business environment as we look ahead to 2021,” EuroCham Chairman Nicolas Audier said. “The growth in confidence we have seen over the last 12 months is a testament to the government’s swift and effective handling of Covid-19, and creates a strong foundation for the next five years of Vietnam’s socio-economic growth.”

The BCI climbed six points in the last quarter of 2020 to reach 63.6 – ending 2020 on a high note. In total, the index rose 37 points over the course of last year, after falling to a historic low in Q1 with the initial outbreak of Covid-19. Since then, the BCI has maintained positive growth as Vietnam’s successful handling of the pandemic and implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) combined to improve confidence and boost business.

Some 60% of European business leaders in Vietnam believe that they have already benefited from the EVFTA since it entered into force on August 1. However, 33% also said that “administrative procedures” were still the main barrier for them to utilize the EVFTA – showing the importance of monitoring the implementation of this agreement.

European business leaders are looking forward to the increased trade and investment thanks to the agreement, while also highlighting some of the issues which need to be addressed to ensure its smooth and successful implementation, Mr. Audier added.

Mr. Denis Brunetti, President of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia & Laos told Hanoitimes about Vietnam’s economic prospects and his company’s investment plan in 2021. Mr. Denis Brunetti What do you think about the outlook of Vietnam’s investment environment in 2021? The Vietnamese economy demonstrated a high degree of resilience in 2020, sustainably growing at a faster rate than most countries around the world. This was due to strong leadership by the Vietnamese government in driving a visionary and unified ‘whole of country’ and ‘whole of society’ approach in successfully addressing the Covid-19 pandemic challenge. We foresee an even higher GDP growth rate in 2021 as the country and the world emerges out of the pandemic crisis. What are challenges and opportunities for your company in particular and European businesses in Vietnam as a whole in 2021? We see significant opportunities for European companies in Vietnam due to the government’s strategic vision and leadership in attracting high-tech foreign-direct investment (FDI), promoting start up entrepreneurship and securing such a significant number of free trade agreements, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Coupled with strong political stability, Vietnam has clearly become a leading investment destination in the region and across the world. With over 65% of international manufacturing hubs shifting to Asia Pacific by 2025, we believe that Vietnam is well positioned to attract much of this smart manufacturing investment. We are highly optimistic about Vietnam’s economic and investment prospects in 2021 and beyond, and we are committed to fully supporting Vietnam’s ambition in becoming a high income and developed industrial nation by 2045. What is your investment plan in Vietnam in 2021? In 2021 and beyond, our clear strategic focus is to continue to fully support the government of Vietnam’s National Strategy on Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation to 2025 and vision towards 2030, whereby the digital economy will account for 30% of Vietnam’s GDP by 2030. The company is fully aligned with the government in our shared belief that 5G will become the critical national digital infrastructure enabling and fueling Vietnam’s digital transformation journey, which will in turn create the next wave of socioeconomic development through high-tech FDI, science, technology and start up innovation. We are committed to continue working with Vietnam’s mobile operators and service providers to build the 5G networks across Vietnam, which will effectively lay the foundation for Vietnam’s inclusive and sustained GDP growth, fueled by IoT (Internet of Things), AI, Automation, AR/VR and machine learning – enabled by 5G as the enabling nationwide digital infrastructure. Through 2021, we will remain focused on bringing the latest mobile broadband technology to Vietnam, forging strategic partnerships in relation to smart manufacturing as well as continuing to partner with our customers and ‘Business Sweden’ in line with the government of Vietnam’s strategic vision in attracting increased high-tech FDI and start up entrepreneurship, which will help create new industries and new jobs of the future. Thanks for sharing your time with us.