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Ericsson partners with feds to boost funding for Kanata R&D centre

November 8, 2024

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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 – including its massive Kanata R&D facility on Terry Fox Drive. 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 would create and provide training for hundreds of jobs at its facilities in Ottawa and Montreal. Those sites act as hubs for research and development of advanced mobile networks, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. It said the total investment of $634.8 million would "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 in an interview. 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. 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 Swedish wireless networking and telecommunications giant employs about 1,700 people in the Ottawa region. Its 270,000-square-foot Kanata site is the company’s largest R&D facility in North America. Ericsson Canada president Jeanette Irekvist said Friday there is “no set split” for how the latest funding will be allocated between Ottawa and Montreal, adding it “will be based on priority research areas and partnerships in both innovation hubs.” The centres in Ottawa and Montreal will focus on the development of quantum communications and AI-powered network management, while also expanding Ericsson’s Cloud RAN, 5G Advanced, and 6G capabilities. Ericsson’s Kanata site includes more than 46,000 square feet of lab space for designing hardware and software, integrating and verifying products and conducting cutting-edge research. “The mix of top tier post-secondary and research institutions, an incredibly strong talent pool, and the ability to work closely with our government partners to bring solutions to Canadians makes Ottawa an important city that we are proud to work with,” Irekvist said in an email to OBJ. Noting that the company opened its first Canadian 5G drone lab in Ottawa earlier this year, she said the additional funding will help Ericsson explore “areas of research that will have the biggest impact in the industry and bring Canada to the forefront of wireless innovation.” The number of new jobs created in Ottawa will depend on “ongoing research activities and priorities,” Irekvist said, adding there will be “a significant boost” in employment opportunities for highly skilled workers. “Our partnership with Ericsson solidifies Canada’s position as a leader in next-generation networks," Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement Thursday. "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 focuses 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." – With additional reporting from the Canadian Press