The telecom industry reaches into every corner of our economies, societies, and private lives, and it is one of the greatest drivers of economic growth and human equality the world has ever seen.
I think we have challenges, but we have so many opportunities to get it right. I like it when we have a little bit of a headwind. The kite actually lifts when you have a headwind and doesn't when there is lift from the back.
The first step in mobility was about letting people speak to each other; then, through 3G and 4G, we saw real connectivity - which works but isn't really designed for quality streaming. With 5G, we won't just be able to communicate better: it will democratise machines.
5G goes beyond the regular operator business; it's a business revolution.
I look forward to joining the great team at Ericsson and work closely with existing and new customers around the world.
5G will be a major technology in growing industrial digitalisation, creating and enhancing industry digitalisation use cases such as immersive gaming, autonomous driving, remote robotic surgery, and augmented reality support in maintenance and repair situations.
The 5G world will be a collaborative ecosystem, and the role of what each of us will do in that remains to be thought through.
It's often taken for granted that the most dominant tech companies control the world's most important technology and communications platforms. Instead, the truth is that these giants run on top of the world's most important platform: the mobile communications networks.
The power of change that mobile technology unleashes is extraordinary.
In my experience over the past 30 years in business, investment decisions can be slowed or stopped due to unpredictability in laws and regulatory framework or if free trade and competition is hampered or access to capital restricted.
Having spent almost 25 years in different roles within Investor, I have truly enjoyed working with creating long-term value in our companies.
As an engineer by training, turning down the offer - getting to lead Ericsson, one of Sweden's greatest companies - is impossible.
5G will come. We can debate when in certain parts of the world. But it's quite clear that the race is heating up in North America and Northeast Asia.
If I would have to sacrifice R&D investments to fulfill a goal, that would be the wrong goal to have.
You need to invest in areas where you can be the market leader because then you get a disproportionate share of the economics when you are.
Gigabit LTE will be an important technology evolution because that puts demands on the rest of the network to basically be - 5G-ify it.
What I think is happening in China is that they are recognizing mobile infrastructure is actually a critical piece of national infrastructure.
When we talk about national infrastructure, we often discuss roads and railroads, but as a matter of fact, mobile infrastructure is equally as important.
I am convinced that as we move more towards cloud services, there is going to be a greater need for connectivity.
Profitability is the only way to control your own investments.
