Ericsson announces funding boost for R&D centres through partnership with Ottawa

Wireless networking technology company Ericsson Canada says it is expanding a previously announced partnership with the federal government through a combined investment of more than $630 million in research and development centres.

The funding, announced Thursday during a press conference in Ottawa, builds on a $470-million commitment announced last year as part of a five-year research and development collaboration.

Ericsson, which has 3,100 Canadian employees, said the funding boost will create and provide training for hundreds of jobs at its facilities in Ottawa and Montreal. Those sites act as hubs for research and development on advanced mobile networks, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.

It said the total investment of $634.8 million will "advance next-generation communications technologies" such as 5G and 6G networks over a five-year term. The funding will also further grow Ericsson's partnerships with more than 20 Canadian post-secondary institutions.

Over the course of the five-year agreement, the company said it will create almost 200 jobs and more than 600 co-ops through its university partnerships.

"It's rather attractive to invest in Canada," said Ericsson president and CEO Börje Ekholm.

He noted that Ericsson, like other technology companies that have set up shop in Canada, is impressed with Canada's "ecosystem" of talent.

"Canada has invested in education for quite some time," he said. "You have immigration that's actually happening on a continuous basis. I think that's positive for us because we can build the talent here."

The partnership between Ericsson and the federal government, announced in April 2023, is meant to put Canada at the "forefront of global development in next-generation communications technologies," the company said last year.

The centres in Montreal and Ottawa will focus on the development of quantum communications and AI-powered network management, while also expanding the company's Cloud RAN, 5G Advanced and 6G capabilities.

"Our partnership with Ericsson solidifies Canada's position as a leader in next-generation networks," said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a media statement.

"With the increased investment, we'll not only support the 5G networks of today, but also advance the technologies that will shape our future and continue to make Canada a leader in these areas."

Part of the work taking place at the two facilities centres on the expansion of service capabilities on mobile networks, said Ekholm.

While the evolution of network technology to date has been critical to enabling current levels and usage of data, he said the next step is to make networks "programmable."

That means allowing consumers and organizations to run a "multitude of services" on a mobile network. He said improved networks can make things like financial transactions or police communications more secure.

"You can actually see the networks as a horizontal platform that can give new services," said Ekholm.

"From a consumer point of view, you already have a lot of capacity in a 4G network, but you're going to get more on 5G, 5G Advanced and 6G."