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Ericsson's vision of Networked Society takes Center Stage at Boston University's business case competition

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^{Published in Science and Technology on Tuesday, March 29th 2011 at 9:20 GMT by Market Wire}  

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN--(Marketwire - March 29, 2011) -

· 64 students from 16 schools in 24-hour, International Tech Strategy Business Case Competition

· Students deliver fresh thinking on business challenges and opportunities in a Networked Society

· Top prize won for boldest strategy in the fields of healthcare and energy

Ericsson (NASDAQ: [ ERIC ]) and Boston University School of Management have announced that a team of business students from the University of Western Ontario, Canada has won first place in the sixth annual International Tech Strategy Business Case Competition. The intense 24-hour competition, worth $47,500 in prizes, challenges students to help solve real issues that face global technology leaders. The event took place at Boston University School of Management on March 25-26, 2011. This is the fourth consecutive year that Ericsson has sponsored the competition.

This year's competition focused on the business challenges and opportunities as IT and telecommunications continue to come together, creating a new Networked Society. Each team was asked how Ericsson should devise a strategy for doing business specifically for healthcare and energy in the Networked Society.

The team from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario in Canada was awarded the top prize of USD 25,000. Team members included Paul von Martels, Daniel Moro, James Larsen and Hussein Govani.

"There is a unique power in a Networked Society that drives creativity and transforms people's lives, businesses and society," said Hans Vestberg, Chief Executive Officer, Ericsson. "The students in this competition are tomorrow's leaders in the Networked Society and have been able to experience this weekend the benefits that are possible when things, as well as people, are connected intelligently, an impact that is felt across all industries."

In a new development for 2011, a bonus four-hour collaborative competition was held where students were put into teams with Ericsson top managers, who were participating in an executive development program at Boston University. Each team was asked to propose applications in either healthcare or energy. Results ranged from applications dealing with personal health management (SuperME), to holistic dog care (HealthPaws).

According to this year's case author and Boston University School of Management Professor N Venkatraman, having students work with Ericsson executives is the best way to influence the next generation of business leaders. "Students understand that ICT not only assures better communications, it also impacts the way that businesses in every sector will operate. Ericsson has successfully made this transition as an architect of the Networked Society."

Schools competing in this year's event included:

· Boston University School of Management

· Eller College of Management - University of Arizona

· Haas School of Business - UC Berkeley

· Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

· IESE Business School - University of Navarra, Spain

· Indian Institute of Management - Calcutta, India

· IPADE Business School - Universidad Panamericana, Mexico

· Kenan-Flagler Business School - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

· London Business School, UK

· Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

· McCombs School of Business - University of Texas, Austin

· Queen's School of Business, Canada

· Richard Ivey School of Business - University of Western Ontario, Canada

· Seoul National University, Korea

· Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

· The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Notes to editors:

See the case competition updates as they happened on: [ www.facebook.com/technologyforgood ][ http://www.casecomp.blogspot.com/ ]

Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: [ www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room ]

Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the "prime driver in an all- communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

[ www.ericsson.com ][ www.twitter.com/ericssonpress ][ www.facebook.com/technologyforgood ][ www.youtube.com/ericssonpress ]

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Ericsson North America via Thomson Reuters ONE

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