Ericsson unveils antenna integrated radio unit: AIR

* Innovative design integrates antenna unit into radio unit
* Field tests indicate 42 percent power consumption reduction and 30 percent reduction of integration and installation time
* Only necessary to swap antennas when adding new 3G/4G technology on site

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) announces the launch of its ground-breaking Ericsson AIR (antenna integrated radio) solution at the Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona. The radio solution, based on a unique design compactly integrating the antenna into the radio unit, will cut energy consumption and installation time drastically.

The compact, multi-standard solution ensures highly efficient and smooth introduction of new technologies, both 3G and 4G. A new standard or a new frequency band can easily be introduced by simply adding AIR and swapping the existing antenna. Mobile operators will also benefit from reduced costs due to shorter installation time, because AIR has fewer units and fewer interconnections compared to traditional site solutions. Field trials in customer networks proved a reduction of integration and installation time of up to 30 percent.

In addition, the field trial demonstrated that the solution provides reduced power consumption of up to 42 percent, mainly due to reduced feeder loss and simplified cooling.

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: “AIR is the fruit of in-depth discussions with customers about their future requirements for highly efficient radio access solutions. AIR will not only cut operational costs substantially, but it will also ensure a smooth introduction of new technologies and frequency bands.”

As gaining access to new sites becomes increasingly difficult, site design and appearance is becoming more important. AIR has been carefully designed to blend into the environment and its sleek appearance is close to that of a traditional antenna.

Ewaldsson says: “We are experiencing a tremendous take off in mobile broadband and the user expectations on speed and coverage are increasing the demands on the networks. In order to cope with the future capacity demands, we have a clearly defined small cell strategy. I am proud to announce that the AIR architecture is the first stepping stone towards a heterogeneous network.”

This completely new design of a radio solution is the result of an innovative strategic partnership between Ericsson and the antenna market leader Kathrein.

The AIR solution will be commercially available in the second half 2011 and will contribute to a sustainable world and a profitable mobile network.

Notes to editors:

Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 90,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

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About Kathrein

The KATHREIN-Werke KG is the world’s largest antenna producing enterprise with the longest standing tradition of all marketing competitors, and a leading high tech telecommunications company. Kathrein products epitomize quality and reliability. Know-how and over 90 years of experience have made Kathrein one of the market leaders in a number of product ranges. The Kathrein Group currently employ a total of approximately 6,200 individuals, at 14 production facilities and 60 subsidiaries and affiliates world-wide. In 2010, sales figures amounted to 1,200 million euros, 2/3 of which were generated abroad.