Ericsson Evolves Past Roots to Build IPTV Ecosystem

Fueled by billions of dollars in video-related acquisitions that have taken it well beyond the ranks of wireless voice-focused competitors, top Ericsson executives detailed their efforts to provide operators worldwide an easier path to IPTV deployments.

Beyond expanding Ericsson product portfolio, the buyups of Entrisphere, Redback Networks, Tandberg Television and Marconi Systems are enabling the company to win more business from current accounts while addressing a broader global market opportunity.

“We realized that if we wanted to play in multimedia, we needed to play a role in IPTV,” Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg.

“The AT&T win is a beginning for us,” he said of AT&T’s decision announced last Friday to tap Ericsson for GPON gear for new U-verse builds. “We wouldn’t have been able to do that without acquisitions and will continue to see what we can do for Verizon for which we are not a big supplier.”

Through the acquisitions Svanberg said Ericsson now plays in 150 markets around the world, has a 40 percent share of the global IPTV market and is investing $4 billion “to keep us in the forefront.”

Angel Ruiz, president of Ericsson North American operations said the firm now has more than 6,500 people in the United States, of which 2,500 are engaged in research and development and 1,000 of those located in Silicon Valley.

“We’re going beyond our strength in wireless to capitalize on the growth in broadband access,” explained Ruiz. “We believe we have the technologies and products to deepen relationships with customers such as AT&T.”

Ericsson’s CEO did not rule out additional acquisitions in the video space, saying the company “is fairly complete there,” even though the IPTV ecosystem it can deliver today lacks a set-top box component, unlike rivals Cisco Systems Inc. and Motorola Inc.

“I’m of the opinion that the set-top box would not mean a lot of difference for us,” said Svenberg.

As far as evolution is concerned, the acquisition of Tandberg, which had long been working with content providers and broadcasters, will enable Ericsson to evolve, said Tandberg TV President Eric Cooney.

“They can move up the value chain past IPTV and mobile, to content providers,” said Cooney, noting that his firm already works with CNN, NBC,CBS, HBO and others.

Ericsson www.ericsson.com

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