Ericsson initiated union negotiations to close down its telecom cables operation within business unit Networks. In Europe there is more production than demand for both copper and fiber cables. The announcement primarily impacts the operations in Hudiksvall and Stockholm. A notice of reduction of 318 positions in Hudiksvall is given, and a dialog with the unions in Stockholm for how to close down 36 positions in Stockholm is initiated. Union negotiations expected to be completed during the third quarter 2013.

Ericsson and Verizon Wireless announced that they will be partnering to begin the deployment of small cells in the operator's 4G LTE network this year. Adding small cells will help increase the capacity in Verizon's 4G LTE network, enabling it to continue providing high quality and reliable mobile broadband service to its customers. The small cell deployment is the latest step in Ericsson's ongoing cooperation with Verizon as the operator rolls-out its 4G LTE nationwide network. Small cell deployment is a key part of Ericsson's heterogeneous network strategy. By integrating small cells as part of the macro mobile network, operators can cost effectively provide increased network capacity and improved coverage. It also provides full-service transparency in the network, ensuring that VoLTE, eMBMS and similar functionality work seamlessly in the network.

Huawei announced the signing of a MoU for an Operations Support System Interoperability Initiative (OSSii) along Ericsson with and Nokia Siemens Networks. The OSSii aims to simplify interoperability between OSS systems in a multi-vendor environment. The initiative will provide easy access to interfaces that earlier were subject to restricted use, and will enable interoperability testing services to a wider community. The parties' general guiding principles for the OSSii are openness, fairness, reasonableness and non-discriminatory treatment. Industrywide interoperability between different vendor OSS systems will reduce OSS integration costs, simplify overall network management, and enable shorter time-to-market for new services. By enabling the implementation of 'up-front' multi-vendor OSS interoperability, OSSii will also target the promotion of healthy, win-win competition for network-level OSS systems. While all three initiating OSSii companies have agreed to cross-license their OSS interfaces for multi-vendor network management, cross-licensing and interoperability testing opportunities will also be offered for third-party OSS vendors and other network equipment providers.