By SHAUN HO

KUALA LUMPUR: There could be 50 billion cellphone service subscribers worldwide in about a decade but this would be meaningless to telcos because by then the only figures they would be interested in would be the number of connections.

The number of connections will by then be the measurement of how successful a mobile service company is, instead of how many subscribers it has.

This is according to incoming Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg. He said this will happen because cellular networks are increasingly integrating through different access points, just like computers, cellular handsets and fixed-line telephones.

Vestberg, who was appointed to the position in June and will begin his duties in January, said that in the next seven years, there would be seven billion mobile service subscribers and three billion mobile broadband users worldwide.

“In 2020, we are going to have 50 billion connections,” said Vestberg in an exclusive interview with The Star after attending a workshop with local Ericsson officers here recently.

“That is why convergence networks and access technology like LTE (long term evolution) and HSPA (high-speed packet access) are important,” he said.

What this means is that the telco industry and manufacturers from the other parts of the ICT (information and communications technology) industry are putting together a common protocol so that people can connect all the devices they own.

“This protocol is known as the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and will be finalised by 2013,” said the head of strategy and marketing at Ericsson Malaysia, Steven Tai.

“The connections will be Internet Protocol and SIM-card based, and each person can have many connections. With that, for example, your smart stove could SMS your cellphone to tell you that you left the gas on.”

Vestberg said Ericsson has the unique capability to take advantage of the change in cellular networks by being able to use its existing assets to promote the convergence.

For him, getting a strong foothold in convergence (technology) and keeping Ericsson’s leading edge in wireless technology would be his main priorities.

He said LTE technology and networks have already been tested by Ericsson and some early deployments would be available next year.

On the fierce competition from Chinese service vendors in Malaysia and the region, Vestberg said Ericsson would be focusing on its own strengths.

“We have unique capabilities and very strong local support in the countries where we are present,” he said.

He also said that Malaysia is Ericsson’s hub for management and competence in South-East Asia and it would continue to invest in local competence for use in the region.