Federal government invests $470M in Ericsson facilities in Ontario and Quebec

The government of Canada announced Monday it was investing $470 million in research and development (R&D) facilities of Ericsson AB. The money will be used to expand operations in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata and in Montreal. Eric Parson, Vice President and Head of Cloud RAN Engineering for the Swedish tech giant, told the Wire Report that the research will look at 5G, 6G, core network portfolios and quantum technology. He expects hundreds of new jobs to be created and workers currently at Ericsson to upgrade their skills. A news release added that 60 new internships will be established each year over the five years of the program, mostly in Ottawa and Montreal. Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, told a news conference that his company was involved in a long-term investment in R&D. He praised the abilities of the employees in the firm’s Canadian operations. “Talent matters the most,” he stated. “Ericsson’s R&D investment partnership with the Canadian government, supported by world-class talent in Ottawa and Montreal, will boost innovation and ultimately help to improve the lives of millions of people,” Ekholm said in a statement. “We are determined to lead our industry through continued R&D investment.” Parsons stressed the benefits of the work goes far beyond Canadian borders. “It’s important to note that this R&D in Ottawa is really for the global market,” the VP told the Wire Report in a phone interview. Customer demand for greater bandwidth is driving the push for expanded research, he said. He noted the desire for augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) technologies by users. “When you look at people consuming data on their devices with more streaming, with more AR and XR type of technology, the expectations consumers have on the performance of the network, the capacity of the network, continue to grow by leaps and bounds,” he remarked. Ekholm appeared at a news conference Monday morning with Prime MInister Justin Trudeau and Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne to promote the deal. All three stressed the importance of the government investing in the high-tech ecosystem to further economic growth. “Government plays a role in business,” the Swedish executive said. Parsons told the Wire Report that most of the work in Kanata will revolve around 5G and 6G research while the Montreal hub will concentrate on core network and quantum technology work. The government move follows a similar investment made in Nokia Corp.’s centre in Kanata last fall. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Federal government invests $470M in Ericsson facilities in Ontario and Quebec

News | April 17, 2023

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Federal government invests $470M in Ericsson facilities in Ontario and Quebec

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