Ericsson commits to Russia's Skolkovo Innovation Center

• Ericsson's participation in Russia's Skolkovo Innovation Center formally announced after meeting between Swedish and Russian prime ministers
• Draws on the company's 120 years of collaboration with Russia on ICT modernization
• Press briefing April 27, 1.30pm CET at Sheraton Hotel in Stockholm

A strategic agreement has been reached in Russia that will help drive innovation and development in the country's science and technology sectors. Under the agreement, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) will play a key partner role with the non-profit Skolkovo Foundation in the development of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, a high-technology business park aimed at promoting the development of science and technology companies.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced the strategic agreement during an official visit to Sweden, where he held talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and representatives of the Swedish business community.

Victor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation, says Ericsson's decision to play a key role in the future of Skolkovo is a major milestone for the project. "We are delighted the Skolkovo Innovation Center will have the opportunity to benefit from the tremendous industry leadership and expertise Ericsson brings to this very important project," Vekselberg says.

Ericsson CEO and President Hans Vestberg says: "This agreement is a continuation and expansion of what has historically been a partnership based on collaboration, a shared spirit of technological enthusiasm and one that emphasizes a localized presence of our combined efforts in Russia. We find the Skolkovo environment suits us very well in our development needs and by joining the Skolkovo initiative, we are taking another step in our 130-year relationship with Russia."

Ericsson's primary contributions to Skolkovo include:

• The creation of a project-oriented Ericsson research and development (R&D) center
• Support for further development of Skolkovo's R&D infrastructure through the establishment of an Ericsson Networked Society Lab
• Support for the development of Skolkovo University of Technology programs focusing on broadband-based cloud applications, intelligent transport solutions, machine-to-machine (M2M) and other technologies
• Support for the development of an efficient regulatory environment, institutions and management principles based on advanced solutions in corporate compliance, technical support, efficiency and safety.

Notes to editors:

Press briefing
Press conference will be held at hotel Sheraton, Tegelbacken 6, in Stockholm, Wednesday April 27th, 1.30 p.m. Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson Region Northern Europe and Central Asia will speak together with representatives from Skolkovo Innovation Center.

Hans Vestberg profile, photos and video: http://www.ericsson.com/thecompany/corporate_governance/company_management/hans_vestberg

About Ericsson Russia
Ericsson's partnership with Russia dates back 130 years to the first sale of a telephone set in 1891. In 1897, Ericsson went local in Russia with the opening of a major telephone manufacturing facility in St. Petersburg, which at the time was the company's largest such facility in the world.

To develop ICT talent in Russia, Ericsson currently operates the Ericsson Training Center, which was opened in Moscow in 1996. The Center is a joint venture with the Moscow Technical University of Telecommunications - MTUCI. Since opening, the Center has trained more than 20,000 ICT professionals.

Ericsson switches serve more than 40 percent of all national and international telephone traffic in Russia and an Ericsson solution supports every third mobile call in the country. Ericsson is an industry leader in the introduction of an extensive range of the most cutting-edge technologies in Russia's burgeoning information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

About Skolkovo Innovation Center
The center is being developed by the Foundation for Development of the Center of Research and Commercializing of New Technologies (Skolkovo Foundation), a non-profit organization charged by the Russian Government with driving innovations that will benefit society.

The foundation was established by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vneshekonombank), the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (Rusnano), Bauman Moscow State Technical University, the Russian Venture Company and the Fund for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in the scientific and technical area.

The President of the foundation is Viktor Vekselberg.
The main concept for the Skolkovo Innovation Center involves technology clusters (energy, biomedical, IT, space and nuclear) that will engage in developing new technologies and products.
Construction on 398 hectares of land is scheduled to start this year. The center is planned to employ 20,000 personnel.

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 90,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
www.ericsson.com
www.twitter.com/ericssonpress
www.facebook.com/technologyforgood
www.youtube.com/ericssonpress

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Corporate Public & Media Relations
Phone: +46 10 719 69 92
E-mail: media.relations@ericsson.com

Ericsson Corporate Public & Media Relations in Russia
Phone: +7 985 765 25 61
E-mail: pr.eeca@ericsson.com