Ericsson CEO has a go at Europe’s dysfunctional telecoms market
Börje Ekholm is becoming increasingly outspoken and the latest focus of his public ire is the way telecoms is regulated in Europe.
February 16, 2021
Börje Ekholm is becoming increasingly outspoken and the latest focus of his public ire is the way telecoms is regulated in Europe.
The Ericsson CEO’s latest outburst was granted to the FT, to whom he characterised the European telecoms market as ‘non-functioning’. The main reason for this claim seems to be the way things are regulated and the ways in which the bloc’s politicians muck about with everything.
These themes are nothing new from Ekholm, who has long lamented European foot-dragging when it comes to making new spectrum available and would like to see a less obstructive approach to operator M&A. Of course, his vested interest is clear as both matters affect how inclined operators are to spend money on the stuff his company sells.
But that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Just as it didn’t when he spoke out about Sweden’s ban of Chinese telecoms vendors. Ekholm insists that there are currently too many disincentives to invest in Europe. “The problem is that the guys that are supposed to build out that infrastructure don’t make any money,” he told the FT. “There is a very big cost to waiting,”
Ekholm is also alarmed by the possibility of Europe funnelling public money into assisting non-European competitors to Ericsson and Nokia, in the name of promoting OpenRAN. Given the largely protectionist nature of the EU, you can’t blame him. “It is interesting to see that now there is a discussion about giving EU subsidies to develop competing companies, mostly they are based in the US and Asia,” he said.
The piece concludes with another critique of Swedish and Western policy when it comes to Chinese vendors, with Ekholm worrying that it risks fragmenting the global telecoms ecosystem. “For us to have a presence in both China and the US allows us to be a global tech leader,” he said. “It is high risk to be only in one ecosystem and not the other. It could ultimately lead to the Chinese ecosystem developing faster thanks to its scale.”
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