Mission statement

Our vision

To be the Prime Driver in an all-communicating world.

Core values

Respect, professionalism and perseverance are the values that are the foundation of the Ericsson culture, guiding us in our daily work - how we relate to people and how we do business.

Company history

Ericsson’s Story

 

1876 Lars Magnus Ericsson opens telegraph repair workshop

1878 Ericsson introduces telephones with single trumpet

1881 First major contracts won in Norway, Russia and Sweden

1900 1000 employees globally, SEK 4 million in sales and 50,000 telephones produced

1902 Sales office opens in US

1905 First acquisition made in Mexico

1923 First automatic 500-point switches in service

1923 First automatic 500-point switches in service

1946 Foundation for research into television established

1950 LM Ericsson telephone exchange supports world's first international call

1977 First digital telephone exchange (AXE) installed

1977 First digital telephone exchange (AXE) installed

1981 First mobile system, NMT, inaugurated in Saudi Arabia

1988 First GSM system order from Vodafone, UK

1991 First GSM phones in operation

1991 AXE lines exceed 105 million in 11 countries, serving 34 million subscribers

1998 Ericsson introduces the AXD 301 ATM switch to converge voice and data

1999 Ericsson pushes for 3G and mobile internet

2000 Ericsson becomes world's leading supplier of 3G mobile systems

2001 Ericsson conducts the first 3G call for Vodafone, UK

2003 High-speed broadband (WCDMA) roll out starts globally

2005 Ericsson wins biggest contracts to date to manage operator 3's networks in Italy and the UK

2005 Even faster mobile (HSDPA) broadband is introduced

2007 Full-service broadband, where fixed and wireless networks converge, is introduced

2008 Ericsson pushes for 4G (LTE), the standard the company has helped to form

2008 Research center established in Silicon Valley, USA

2009 Ericsson wins the IEC InfoVision Award for fiber and backhaul solutions

2009 Verizon and Ericsson collaborate to carry out first data call on 4G network

2009 Ericsson launched the world’s first live LTE network in Stockholm, Sweden

2010 New world record, 84Mbps HSPA technology was showcased by Ericsson

2011 Ericsson sells its stake in Sony Ericsson to Sony

Brand history

Ericsson’s 131-year history is a rich one: ground-breaking inventions, enormous investments and interesting personalities. The company archives also reveal a large number of logotypes – from the first simple seal to today’s stylized E. Join us on a journey through the history of Ericsson’s logotype.

The first logo (1)

(1)

Lars Magnus Ericsson’s workshop produced its first telephones in 1878, two years after starting operations. Ericsson marked his products with a simple stamp showing the company name inside a square or oval. Such markings, along with advertising and marketing for products from a particular factory, were something new at the time – a consequence of the industrial age’s mass production – but were fast becoming an important way for a company to attract consumers.

Craftsmen had previously marked their products with stamps or insignia, but such markings were mostly because of regulatory requirements meant to ensure that authorities could trace the origins of any faulty goods.

Registration for trademark protection became possible during the second half of the 19th century.

 

1894 – The first registered trademark. 

Ericsson’s first registered trademark was the logotype for Taxen (the Dachshund) (2), one of the market’s first tabletop phones, with a combined microphone and speaker in one handset. The phone was a success and sold on into the 1930s. By this time, Ericsson had also started producing and selling telephony switches.

(2) 

New company – new logo (4: combination of 2 and 3)

Ericsson merged with Stockholms Allmanna Telefonaktiebolag (Stockholm Public Telephone Company, orsat) in 1918. The new company, Allmanna Telefonaktiebolaget lm Ericsson, used a combination of the previous companies’ logos: sat’s pointed star with Ericsson’s Taxen in the center.

The story of the merger is interesting. Sat’s founder, Henrik Tore Cedergren, was one of the first Swedes to install Alexander Graham Bell’s new invention, the telephone, after it reached Sweden in 1877 (because there was no network, he installed a line between his home and the family’s jewelry shop, both on Drott ninggatan, the same street where Lars Magnus Ericsson had his workshop).

Cedergren’s business idea was to develop and operate a telephone network that many could afford.  sat was a big Ericsson customer, but also began to produce its own telephones. Another competitor, the government-owned Telegrafverket- -later to become Televerket (today Telia Sonera) – did the same. This temporarily reduced the size of Ericsson’s domestic market, and the company exported most of its products.

SAT and Ericsson began cooperating again in the early years of the 20th century and became increasingly close. Up until the merger, both companies were investing in manual systems and were being overtaken by competitors whose systems were more automated. When they joined forces, sat sold its telephony network to Telegrafverket and concentrated on developing new products. This made Allmanna Telefonaktiebolaget lm Ericsson the market leader.

(3) 

(4)

Local variations (5 & 6)

The new company, like its predecessors, had major operations outside Sweden, and many variations of the parent company’s logotype. In 1926, the word Allmanna was removed from the company name, and the parent company’s logo was adjusted.

The 1920s were an eventful decade for Telefonaktiebolaget lm Ericsson. It expanded its portfolio by buying up companies. Their products included electrical telephone cables, Bakelite products, condensers, copper wire and electric motors. The subsidiaries had their own logos based on the parent company’s. One of them was Svenska Radioaktiebolaget, which was launched in cooperation with asea and aga (7), a company producing radio transmitters and receivers. Marconi became a part owner in 1921, eventually selling its share in the 1970s, when Svenska Radioaktiebolaget was renamed Ericsson Radio Systems.

(5)

(6) 

(7) 

Ericsson goes cursive (8 & 9)

The company got its first corporate logotype in 1927. The star shape remained, but the Taxen has been replaced by a more modern telephone, and the word Ericsson is written in cursive style with a long tail from the letter N. This way of writing Ericsson had previously been used on letterhead, and in catalogs and brochures.

(8)

(9) 

Color change

The 1940s were a new era for both Ericsson and Sweden. Ericsson had built a new factory and headquarters in Midsommarkransen outside Stockholm’s center, while the city had contributed with workers’ accommodation and a new metro station: Telefonplan. The streets in the new suburb got appropriate names, such as Mikrofonvagen, Telefonvagen and lm Ericssons vag.

A new logotype was launched in 1942, in keeping with the times. A cursive “Ericsson” in the foreground had the letters “LM” in the background (10). The corporate color became red. Yet the old logotypes also lived on, and local variations of the corporate logo were used in many countries. Individual products also had their own logotypes (11).

(11) 

 

(12) 

 

Logotype for “One Company”

During and after World War 2, Ericsson had operations in a variety of fields: traffic lights fire alarms, radio and television sets, time clocks and more. During the 1960s and 1970s, digital technology entered the telecom world, with axe as one of the pioneering products.

The early 1980s were characterized by major changes. Ericsson delivered its first nmt networks in Sweden and Saudi Arabia, and ibm launched the personal computer. Several markets took the first steps towards deregulation: In the us, at&t was split into seven separate “Baby Bell” companies in 1984, the same year as British Telecom (now bt) was privatized.

Ericsson deputy ceo Lars Ramqvist coined the term “One Company” to bring the whole group together. One of the first steps in the process was appointment of London bureau aid to create a common logotype and graphical profile for the entire concern.

Many discussions later, the corporate color was changed in 1982 from red to blue (13), and the stylized e was chosen from several proposed logotypes. Not everyone realized that the symbol was an e: In Sweden, people guessed that it was trekorvar (three sausages), while in Mexico, people joked about tres telebananas (the three tele-bananas).

(13) 

Today’s logotype (14)

There have been small adjustments made since the introduction of the stylized e. The blue color was replaced two years ago by a darker blue, the better to signify Ericsson as a service and soft ware company and a partner for good business – more than just a technology company. The latest update of the graphical profile means that use of the stylized e on its own is now permitted. This logo is often placed on flags and pylons – high up and clearly visible – at trade fairs and Ericsson offices to communicate:

(14)   

“Ericsson is here!”

 

For more information on Ericsson's history, please visit www.ericssonhistory.com

 

Strapline

Ericsson, a world of communication

Advertising

Sponsorships

Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow

A message for the future, Picture Today Inspire Tomorrow is a unique photography project, getting millions of people around the world to share and reflect on their own lives and learn from the lives of others.

Paralympics

The Swedish Sports Organization for the Disabled and the Swedish Paralympic Committee organize and help fund sports for people with a range of disabilities. Founded in 1969, the combined organization includes 450 clubs and 40,000 members, of whom about 25,000 are active in sports.

Glada Hudik-Teatern

Glada Hudik-Teatern is a theater company featuring actors with developmental disabilities. It was established in 1996 to further opportunities for people with learning disabilities to live independent lives and to play meaningful roles in society.

LME birthplace

Lars Magnus Ericsson, the founder of our company, was born on May 5, 1846, on a small farm in Värmskog in the middle of Sweden. More than 130 years later, his enterprise has turned into one of the world's leading telecommunication companies.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s toughest round-the-world sailing challenge, covering more than 72,000 km, with stops in 10 cities on six continents. It ends with an in-port race in Ireland in May 2012.

Nobel Media

Nobel Media develops and manages programs, events, publishing, productions, and digital and broadcast media rights for the Nobel Prizes. The company spreads knowledge about the achievements recognized by the Nobel Prizes, and shares the Nobel Laureates’ inspirational stories with a global audience.

The Ericsson Globe

Ericsson is the proud naming partner of the Ericsson Globe, the largest spherical building in the world. The Ericsson Globe, a national arena and outstanding landmark in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, can hold more than 16,000 spectators. Over the years, it has played host to many of the world’s greatest artists and sports stars.

Key people

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO

Hans Vestberg is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ericsson Group, the world’s leading provider of telecommunications technology and services.

Vestberg, who joined Ericsson in 1991, was instrumental in developing the company’s industry-leading services operation, which grew threefold during his five years of management (2003-2007). Today, services represent 39 percent of Ericsson’s total sales. He has wide international experience, having held various managerial positions for Ericsson in China, Brazil, Mexico and the US.

He remains the international advisor to the Governor of Guangdong, China and is co-chairman of the Russian-Swedish Business Council, a platform for the cooperation of leading companies in each country.

Vestberg served as Ericsson’s Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2009 before becoming CEO.

Along with the rest of Ericsson’s executive team, Vestberg is focused on advancing the company’s leadership through innovation, technology, services and sustainable business solutions.

Under his direction, Ericsson has become the main driver toward the Networked Society, where connectivity is the fuel of progress. The success of the Networked Society concept will rest on the ability to bring together mobility, broadband, and cloud computing – networks must be transformed to become smart, scalable and give superior performance. The company is a founding member of the New Cities Foundation.

Vestberg is also a leading advocate of the Millennium Development Goals, and for the potential of mobility and broadband to tackle some of the world’s most compelling issues such as poverty, health, education and climate change. He is a member of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, where he chairs the broadband and climate-change working group, and is on the advisory board of the Digital Health Initiative. The company is also co-founder of Connect to Learn, an initiative which aims to provide universal access to quality 21st century secondary education around the world.

He was born in Hudiksvall, in northern Sweden, in June, 1965. He earned a Business Administration degree from the Uppsala University, Sweden, in 1991.

Vestberg has been a lifelong athlete and Chairman of the Swedish Handball Federation since 2007. He enjoys outdoor sports activities and golf.

He lives in Stockholm with his wife and two children.

Additional information

The Networked Society

Ericsson has positioned itself at the heart of ‘The Networked Society’. The company points to a coming fourth age of connectedness and networking, where the internet is not just an information storage facility, but instead seamlessly links all aspects of our lives. Data will be streamed back and forth between the products that we use and the organisations that provide them to continuously improve the way we use them and our quality of life. For example cars can already feed data about breaking, fuel use and speeding to insurers and drivers. Smart meters for utilities are an increasingly common sight in homes, which not only help better estimate bills, but will help companies manage their supply and consumers optimise their usage patterns.

The revolution of a totally connected world will be a democratising process, lowering barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and helping the planet’s most vulnerable support and connect with each other. Featured initiatives include, ‘Millennium Villages’, ‘Connect to Learn’ and ‘Refugees United’, the last of which has been the development of a mobile phone application for which refugees can register and find lost and displaced relatives.

Ericsson plans to be a key facilitator of ‘The Networked Society’, shaping ideas, developing altruistic programmes such as those mentioned above, but most of all by being its technological foundation, providing the comms, data and mobile services that will allow the next communication revolution to take place.

For more information on the Networked Society please visit www.ericsson.com/networkedsociety/