Ericsson CEO Says 5G Growing Faster Than Expected

Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm told analysts Thursday 5G is rolling out faster than expected, driven by the U.S. and northeast Asia. Ericsson and Nokia are the two top 5G equipment suppliers to the U.S. 5G is “happening even faster than we expected just a few months ago,” he said. The biggest market for 5G infrastructure will be China, “where deployments are expected to start near term,” Ekholm said: “We have invested to increase our market share, however it is still too early to assess possible volumes and price levels.” The IoT will be a strong point, Ericsson business growing “twice as fast as the estimated market growth of 20-25 percent per year,” he said.