Ericsson Joins Ether Group

STOCKHOLM -- Ericsson announced today its participation as a founding member of The Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA). The mission of the EFMA is to promote Ethernet access technology and support efforts in related IEEE standards. Ericssson's advancement of broadband Ethernet access through EFMA is yet another of its initiatives to solve the wireline access bottleneck and reflects the company's strong commitment to promoting open industry standards. EFMA will promote the IEEE standards for Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM), e.g. 802.3ah, by driving market initiatives to faciliate adoption of the standard in the marketplace. As a member of EFMA, Ericsson will contribute with its unique perspective as a leading global supplier of telecom infrastructure and network migration solutions, and as an EFM innovator. "Fiber-rich access solutions are expected to strongly increase in market penentration," explained Peter Linder, EFMA Board Member and director of business development for access networks at Ericsson. "We believe that Ethernet, being a robust, well-known and simple technology will play a major role in the deployment of these broadband access networks with improved capabilities." Ericsson AB Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA)