Defense tops Ericsson’s Almedalen 2026 agenda
The role of high-end connectivity in national and regional defense will top Ericsson’s agenda at Almedalen 2026 when Sweden’s political, business, and academic leaders gather on the Baltic Island of Gotland for the annual discussion and debate forum.
Digital infrastructure has arguably never been more critical to defense strategies. With the emergence and growth of new technologies and capabilities, that focus is likely to increase in intensity – with mobile connectivity a key enabler of defense capabilities.
Ericsson will contribute to June 22-26 Almedalen discussions and panels with a high-powered delegation of executives and experts to outline how Ericsson can work in partnership with others to strengthen Sweden’s - and the region’s - defense and critical communications services.
Company CTO, Erik Ekudden; the Head of Ericsson Europe, Middle East and Africa, Patrick Johansson; and Freddie Södergren, the Head of Mission Critical Networks at Ericsson, will discuss topics such as the growing security threat from drones, the need for collaboration between business/government/industry on defense needs, and the proposed EU Digital Networks Act.
Elena Fersman, the Head of Global AI Accelerator; Fredrik Robertsson, Ericsson’s Chief Security Officer and Head of Group Security; and Mikael Bäck, Ericsson Group Function Technology Corporate Officer, will also attend.
Erik Ekudden, CTO, Ericsson, says: “Erik Ekudden, CTO, Ericsson, says: “Defense will be one of the main topics across the entire Almedalen event week. Ericsson will highlight the critical role of connectivity and digitalization within national, regional and global security. We’re looking forward to productive engagements during Almedalen.”
Erik Ekudden on stage at an Ericsson event during Almedalen 2025.
As part of Ericsson’s 150 year’s commemoration, the recently published book Connected: Engineering across generations, written with full editorial independence by acclaimed Swedish author Gunnar Wetterberg, will be discussed in the context of Sweden historical technology leadership and potential for the future. Wetterberg will be in attendance.
Find out more about Sweden’s Almedalen 2026 attendance (in Swedish).