Ericsson looks for new money streams

BARCELONA, Spain — Ericsson AB, the world’s largest maker of wireless networking equipment, is making a new push into services such as money transfers over handsets, as short-term uncertainties weigh on growth of its traditional business, Chief Executive Officer Hans Vestberg said in an interview.

Ericsson, which makes about 37 percent of its revenue through services, said Monday here at the Mobile World Congress that it teamed up with Western Union Co. to grab a share of the $800 billion worth of ‘m-commerce’ it estimates will be recorded by 2016. Such transactions allow customers to use their prepaid phone credit to pay for purchases on handsets.

“In the long term the fundamentals are definitely there,” Vestberg said of the growth drivers in the network-equipment market. “In the short term, decisions may depend on what carriers see in the environment around them.”

Ericsson’s fourth-quarter profit missed estimates on slower spending from North American customers. AT&T revised its spending plans while it mounted a bid for T-Mobile USA that collapsed in December, while T-Mobile had put its plans for a network based on the long-term evolution technology on hold until last week. Verizon slowed capital expenditure compared with last few years, according to the company’s guidance.

Ericsson, based in Stockholm and a rival of Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei Technologies and ZTE, said it was discussing with telecom operators in different regions to sell its mobile wallet after it signed its first contract with MTN Group in the Middle East and Africa.

Ericsson wants to develop new products and services internally, Vestberg said. “Our priority is organic growth,” he said. Asked whether he was looking to buy patents from Eastman Kodak, the photography pioneer that filed for bankruptcy protection this year, Vestberg said no.

“We have 30,000 patents,” he said. “We have the most patents in 2G, 3G and 4G in the industry and we’re very happy with that portfolio. We’re not looking to get more.”