While welcoming an LTE order from Telefónica UK, Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg took a sideswipe at his competitors insisting that the company remained the number one supplier in market sectors it believes are important.

“With mobile infrastructure we’re clearly in a leadership position – our installed base in this sector is bigger than, or equals the combined base of number two and number three in the market. In managed services we’re also clearly number one, while with OSS/BSS we’re again number one,” Vestberg told Mobile World Live. “These are the three areas we’re focused upon.”

There are different competitors in each market sector, and we must continually evolve, said the Ericsson CEO. “We need to make the mobile infrastructure more efficient, take the delivery of services to a global level and recognise that OSS/BSS will go through enormous transformation because of IP.”

The Telefónica UK order will see Ericsson upgrading the network by providing its Evolved Packet Core (EPC) for 100 per cent of its UK network, while 50 per cent of the operator’s base stations will be replaced with Ericsson’s RBS6000 multi-standard radio node.

Andrew Conway, head of mobile access at O2, said: “This network transformation will put us in a great position for a seamless launch of LTE services this year. The outcome of the recent spectrum auction allows us to ensure the widest and deepest possible reach for new services and will see O2’s 4G network provide indoor coverage to 98 per cent of the UK population.