Incoming Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg has insisted that his company will maintain market leadership despite the growing threat from China’s Huawei. “What are the important things?” he said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT). “To keep the leadership in mobility and services. We are the number one. [It is] challenging, of course… but there can be no other priority.” Vestberg noted that Ericsson believes telecoms is a growth industry, despite the recent downturn, and “we definitely should be able to grow faster than the market.” Such comments come as Ericsson reported an 8 percent fall in network equipment revenue in the three months to September 30 compared with the same period last year, with group revenue falling 6 percent. Huawei is regarded by some as the main rival now to Ericsson’s crown in mobile networks, having recently ousted the Swedish vendor, and its rival Nokia Siemens Networks, from a high-profile deal with Telenor in Norway.

Vestberg told the FT that Ericsson can retain its competitive advantage based on innovation, and said LTE will prove more popular than rival technology WiMAX. He added the vendor’s fast-growing services unit could generate more than 50 percent of total company revenue in the medium term. He also said Ericsson will back Sony Ericsson as it attempts to return to profit next year, although he did not say whether the Swedish parent will stay in the long-term. He also didn’t rule out Ericsson getting involved in any future consolidation in the network equipment sector.