Ericsson Reflects On The Future Of A Networked World At The Abu Dhabi Media Summit 2010

An unprecedented gathering of global media leaders. Great opportunity to reveal Ericsson’s new approach as a networking company. 3 billion new broadband users in the next five years.

At the Abu Dhabi Media Summit today, Ericsson President and CEO, Hans Vestberg urged industry players to join forces and further collaborate to grasp the valuable opportunities presented by the new fully networked world. The networking opportunities presented at the event sparked new and creative ideas that opened new horizons for innovation.

“The vision that we painted a couple of years ago of Broadband everywhere is happening now. Mobile broadband is not only a necessity – it’s a prerequisite.” Vestberg said. Ericsson will play an integral part in the shaping of the coming decade by offering enhanced services and solutions that make life easier and more rewarding. “Operators, media companies, broadcasters and many others refer to us to help mitigate the increased complexity of their networks and operations so that they can concentrate on their business value and user experience.” he added.

Vestberg commented: “In the next five years, we will have 3 billion new broadband users and 5.5 billion people will be connected via mobile phone. And being one of the most important communication mediums, TV viewers are also expected to reach 5 billion. Today for example, 65% of the population in the Gulf Countries is under 30 and consumes up to 70% of all internet traffic on all types of digital media. This new world means that we need to see more collaboration among industry players, more transformation and convergence of networks and technologies and less complex, future proof and highly reliable products and services.”

“We also expect that by 2020, our customers will be connected to healthcare, intelligent transport and machine to machine communication” Vestberg added.

More than 200 executives from leading technology, content, media and service provider companies attended the inaugural summit at the Media Center, Yas Marina Circuit. It featured a unique combination of high-profile public sessions, closed-door discussions and private conversations, bringing together top-tier global media players and their emerging-market counterparts. These include – among others - Google, AOL, France Telecom, Bharti, MTV and Microsoft.