Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Ericsson, a global leader in communications technology and services, today celebrates the 50-year anniversary of its Research and Development (R&D) center in Athlone. Over the past five decades, the Athlone site has evolved from a factory, initially established in 1974 with 250 employees, to a software development hub in 1979, marking the inauguration of one of the first R&D centers in Ireland. Today, the facility boasts a workforce of over 1,300 employees, making it one of the largest R&D centers in Ireland.

Senior Ericsson executives, along with Government and industry representatives, were welcomed to the R&D headquarters for Ericsson’s Network Management portfolio to mark this historic milestone.

Speaking in Athlone, Per Narvinger, Sr. Vice president and Head of Business Area Cloud Software and Services at Ericsson, said:“As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of our R&D center in Athlone, we celebrate not only a significant milestone, but also the profound contributions of our dedicated workforce. Their expertise and commitment have been pivotal in advancing essential mobile technologies that power communications networks across the globe. Our ongoing R&D efforts and projects with Governments and academic institutions, including what we have announced with Enterprise Ireland and the Technical University of the Shannon today, serve as key foundations in realizing Ericsson’s vision of intelligent and programmable networks.“

CEO of IDA Ireland Michael Lohan said: “Ericsson has shown consistent commitment to its Irish operations over the past 66 years in Ireland and 50 years in Athlone. Their ongoing investment and expansion in this campus have led to significant growth in their portfolio of strategic functions. Since 2000, Ericsson has invested more than €3 billion in the Athlone facility. Beyond economic contributions, each year more than 6,000 local individuals, from junior school students to adults transitioning into technology careers, have benefited from Ericsson’s presence. I congratulate both the Irish and global teams on this milestone and assure Ericsson of IDA Ireland’s continued partnership.”

In conjunction, Ericsson also announced a significant new partnership with the Government agency Enterprise Ireland and the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS).

This new partnership between Ericsson, Enterprise Ireland, and TUS has the potential to revolutionize the management of mobile networks. The initiative, ‘Digital Adaptive Twin for Unified Management’ (DATUM), will utilize digital twin technology as well as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to create a digital mirror of a live mobile network, in order to streamline the complex task of managing network configurations and thereby improve efficiency and responsiveness.

Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland believes innovation is key to boosting competitiveness and enhancing productivity, and is crucial for agility. We are committed to fostering research, development, innovation, and collaboration, and Enterprise Ireland is proud to support the delivery of several programmes and initiatives on a national and European level, including the new ‘Digital Adaptive Twin for Unified Management’”

“Delivered in partnership with Ericsson and TUS, the DATUM programme will help to deliver efficiencies and responsiveness, and will help to shape the industry globally. I would like to thank Ericsson and TUS for their partnership on this important initiative, and we look forward to collaborating with them on this project which will contribute to shaping the future of open, programmable, and intelligent networks.”

The Athlone site boasts industry-leading expertise in software development, with dedicated teams responsible for developing products and solutions across the Ericsson BCSS and Cloud RAN portfolios. The R&D center represents a pivotal arm in Ericsson’s strategy to develop open, programmable, and intelligent networks of the future. Key technologies for the open management of 5G mobile networks, developed by teams in Athlone, are being utilized by leading CSPs around the world, including AT&T as part of their five-year network transformation and digitalization agreement with Ericsson signed last year.