At the beginning of December, the first 5G network in Sweden was inaugurated at the KTH University of Technology in Stockholm. And now intensive work is underway where some of Sweden's largest companies are collaborating with Ericsson on how to use the new mobile phone technology.

- In Sweden, we work with companies such as ABB, SKF, Volvo, Scania and Boliden. This is a whole range of companies, says Thomas Norén who is 5G manager at Ericsson.

34 billion new devices

In total, the Swedish telecom giant has collaborated with about 40 companies around the world, because the new technology will revolutionize our society. We will then have mobile phones that keep track of our health and self-driving cars.

But the biggest changes will take place in companies. Ericsson has made a forecast where it is estimated that 34 billion devices will be connected in five years. 5G technology then becomes one of the cornerstones as the industry becomes increasingly connected, which means much more efficient factories.

Paves the way for new Swedish innovations

Now many are talking about the fact that we are heading for a new industrial revolution. But the big changes in Sweden, Ericsson hopes, come from everything we do not know today.

- We had good mobile networks in Sweden and this meant that leading companies such as Spotify and Klarna could grow for streaming and payment services. Correspondingly, I believe that if we create really good 5G architecture, Swedish innovations will also emerge.

Norén believes that we do not yet really know what many of those innovations are yet.

- But I am absolutely sure that if you have a good infrastructure, there will also be many innovations, says Norén.