‘We believe in open competition in any market’: Ericsson

Ericsson has already announced 18 commercial 5G deals with telecom operators across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

FILE PHOTO: Ericsson's flag is seen at the company's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden March 11, 2015. TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS/File Photo (REUTERS)

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson said Tuesday it believes in "open competition" in any market, as it sidestepped questions over the recent US action on Huawei and its implication on other players in the telecom space.

"I don't comment on any one of our specific competitors ... we are happy to have open competition with our competitors in any market," Ericsson Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, Magnus Ewerbring told reporters here.

Ewerbring was responding to a specific question on Chinese gear maker Huawei. Last week, the Trump administration had placed Huawei and its affiliates on a blacklist, a move that essentially banned the Chinese telecom equipment company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without the US government approval. The US has now reportedly relaxed some of the restrictions, to reduce disruption for its customers.

Meanwhile, Ericsson during a conference here said that enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA) would be the early 'use cases' for 5G in India.

The company has already announced 18 commercial 5G deals with telecom operators across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It has deployed operational 5G networks based on commercial equipment in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

"The near-term benefits of 5G include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and FWA. These will help address the limited fixed broadband penetration levels in India and also enhance data experience on the move," Ewerbring said.

Terming 5G as a "game changer" for telecom service providers in the long run, Ewerbring said that it will enable new revenue streams.

Between 2018-2024, total mobile data traffic is expected to increase by a factor of five, with 5G networks projected to carry 25 percent of mobile traffic by the end of the period, according to Ericsson Mobility Report (November 2018 edition). More than half of smartphone users in China and India, and one in four in the US, Australia and Canada, expect their own provider to switch to 5G or will wait a maximum of six months before moving to another provider that does, the company said.