What’s up with… Ericsson, Telia, Telefónica

• Ericsson’s Networks chief steps down 
• Telia offloads its TV & Media business  
• Telefónica sells its operations in Argentina

In today’s industry news roundup: Fredrik Jejdling is being replaced as head of Ericsson’s Networks division by Per Narvinger; Telia has struck a deal to sell the media operation that has been dragging down its profitability; Telefónica strikes a quick sale deal with Telecom Argentina; and more!

Fredrik Jejdling, the long-serving head of Ericsson’s largest division, Business Area Networks, is to step down from his role on 15 March and exit the company in June after almost 20 years with the Swedish vendor. He will be replaced by Per Narvinger, who has been with the company since 1997 and has, since 2022, been head of the vendor’s Cloud Software and Services division. The Networks division is Ericsson’s main source of revenues (about two-thirds of the company’s total), generating sales of 158.2 Swedish krona ($14.92bn) in 2024, though that was down 8% compared with 2023. Narvinger will be replaced as the head of the Cloud Software and Services division, which includes the vendor’s core network and increasingly important intelligent automation platform (EIAP) products in its portfolio, by Jenny Lindqvist, who currently runs Ericsson’s Europe and Latin America business. She has been at the company since 2010. Jejdling stated: “It has been a true privilege to work at Ericsson for almost two decades and as head of Business Area Networks since 2017. Our technology leadership enables us to drive the momentum around programmable networks for differentiated connectivity where customers increasingly recognise the benefits of making mobile networks accessible through APIs. As we have laid the foundation for the future success of Networks, where we will focus on key software deliveries and on staying a champion in markets like the US, India and Japan, I feel that this is a good time to move on to new opportunities.” Ericsson also announced that it is revamping its geographic market area operations to have a single market area for the Americas (headed by Yossi Cohen) and one for Europe, Middle East & Africa (headed by Patrick Johansson). Read more. 

Swedish telco Telia has agreed the sale of its TV & Media business, including the TV4 and MTV brands in Sweden and Finland respectively, to Schibsted Media for 6.55bn Swedish Krona ($613m) on a cash- and debt-free basis. The business has been an albatross around Telia’s neck for some years and the move will help it focus on its core telecom business. Or, as the operator puts it: “The agreement is in line with Telia’s active portfolio management and focus on growth in its core connectivity business in the Nordic and Baltic regions.” The divestment is due to be completed by the end of September, though Telia will continue to distribute TV4 and MTV’s content as part of its consumer TV services through a multi-year agreement. Read more.  

Telefónica has sold its operations in Argentina to Telecom Argentina for $1.245bn. “The signing and closing of the transaction took place simultaneously today,” the operator noted in a stock market announcement issued late on Monday. “This transaction is part of the Telefónica Group’s asset portfolio management policy and is aligned with its strategy [to] gradually reduce exposure to Hispanoamerica,” it added. Speculation that a deal to sell the operation in Argentina, which has about 16 million customers, emerged last month, with Millicom cited as one of the interested parties. Since then, rumour has it that Telefónica is seeking to sell its operations in Mexico, while in Peru the telco opted to “invoke the Ordinary Insolvency Procedure of Telefónica del Perú” so it can reorganise the company’s assets. Telefónica, which unexpectedly replaced its CEO last month, has been looking to shrink its Latin American operations for some time – in July last year it struck a deal to sell its business in Colombia to Millicom.

US network operator Lumen Technologies, which is banking on being one of the main providers of network connectivity between US datacentre facilities in the AI era and is investing accordingly, is “enhancing” its network with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme, a 1.6 Tbit/s coherent transceiver that will help Lumen achieve significant reductions in space and power per bit transported over its optical transport infrastructure. In addition, Lumen will use the vendor’s Navigator Control Suite to help automate the management of its fibre networks. “AI is reshaping industries, and the network is the enabler of this transformation,” stated Kye Prigg, executive VP of enterprise operations at Lumen Technologies, in this announcement. “To meet growing demand, Lumen is executing one of the largest internet expansions ever seen. Ciena will play a key role in helping us build the backbone for the AI economy, giving our customers across the globe the capacity, programmability and capability they need to make the most of the AI era,” he added. 

– The staff, TelecomTV