Because of its local presence, Ericsson was in many cases able to react instantly to the situation. In Indonesia, the country that took the brunt of the earthquake and tsunami, Ericsson teams were rebuilding systems within 24 hours of the disaster striking.

Mitch Lewis, president of Ericsson Indonesia, says: "Indonesia is crying; this is what the local news media has been saying and it is not just a figure of speech. Ericsson has been in Indonesia for 97 years, so we have a long history of working with the country in times of need. Ericsson is a strong, community-minded company here and in this situation it is only natural that we do whatever we can to help in the relief efforts."

In northern Indonesian region of Aceh, both fixed and mobile telecommunications were completely washed away. The central office exchange of the area's wireline operator was destroyed, including all equipment. Ericsson has donated a complete mobile telephony system to the Indonesian government. And a number of satellite phones, heavy-duty waterproof phones and standard phones were given by Ericsson and Sony Ericsson to relief organizations, as well as a cash donation.

As part of the immediate relief effort, Ericsson Response has brought a complete container-based GSM system to enable communications between the different aid organizations. Ericsson Response has also sent personnel to Sri Lanka to assist with humanitarian and technological relief.

Ericsson Response is Ericsson's established organization for providing assistance to disaster areas, building on its previous involvement and experience in various disaster-response efforts throughout the world. Ericsson acts in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Employees at Ericsson Indonesia have set up a voluntary fundraising program with donations going to the Indonesian Red Crescent. The company is matching all donations by employees.

In Sri Lanka, all Ericsson employees have donated five days' salary to relief support and Ericsson Sri Lanka itself has also contributed. Apart from donating money, the company is helping the national operator to restore and improve its mobile network.

In India, Ericsson employees have contributed one day’s salary on a voluntary basis towards the relief operations, and Ericsson India will match the amount.

Ericsson Thailand has launched a series of activities, including staff donations in cash and supplies of items such as clothes, water and coffins. It is also offering staff support (interpreters) to Bangkok hospitals.

Ericsson Malaysia has launched a voluntary employee fundraising program, with the company matching all money raised. There is also a continuing collection of blankets, personal hygiene and school items that will be distributed to those affected in Aceh, Sri Lanka and Penang (Malaysia). Ericsson Singapore has also started an employee donation fund.

Similar staff fundraising programs have begun in other countries, such as Australia, the US, Germany Sweden and Switzerland, with the company pledging to match all donations.

SMS is proving to be a simple and effective means for people to make donations. Using SMS and Ericsson's Internet Payment eXchange (IPX), subscribers can buy content or services via their mobile phones and have the purchase added to their phone bills. Ericsson is donating its IPX service, and several operators have either waived their fees or reduced them to just cover costs. Contributions are being channeled by individual operators in their respective countries.

Read more about the tsunami relief work and Ericsson Response at: http://www.ericsson.com/about/ericssonresponse/index.shtml