Tech

Momentum is building for 5G rollout: Ericsson CEO

Momentum building behind 5G: Ericsson CEO
VIDEO3:0503:05
Momentum building behind 5G: Ericsson CEO

Ericsson is poised to explore "uncharted territory" as the Swedish telecommunications company bids to rollout 5G, the next generation of mobile internet.

Several phone makers have earmarked the year 2020 as an ambitious deadline for the introduction of 5G and Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that his company were making headway.

"Of course 5G has been a buzzword and nothing has really happened right? But what you are seeing now is the momentum we are building," Ekholm said at Europe's biggest consumer electronics show on Monday.

Companies from network equipment makers to semiconductor businesses are desperately seeking to make 5G a reality and as a result the future of mobile internet is one of the key themes at the Mobile World Congress in 2017.

"We are entering into a whole new market, in a way (it's) uncharted territory. We are connecting new things… this will require us to enter into new partnerships, new collaboration (and) new business models basically," he added.

Ericsson had announced Swedish businessman and board member, Ekholm, as its new chief executive in October in an effort to turn the tide on a company in turmoil.