Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

KPN NV, the largest Dutch telecommuncations company, has filed a patent-infringement complaint against Ericsson in a district court in Texas, the Swedish telecom equipment maker said on Thursday.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said on Tuesday it would open an investigation after Ericsson claimed Samsung Electronics Inc had infringed on some of its patents in 4G and next generation 5G wireless cellular communications infrastructure systems.

* CFO denies any talk of Ericsson leaving Sweden (Adds details on margins, comments from shareholder and CFO)

Sweden's Ericsson on Friday reported fourth-quarter core earnings ahead of market estimates on the back of strong sales of 5G equipment and it continued to benefit from the ban of China's Huawei from networks in several countries.

* Shares down 7% (Adds details, background on patent lawsuits, comments from Samsung and analyst)

Ericsson said on Friday it has filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung for alleged violations of contractual commitments to negotiate in good faith and to licence patents.

Sweden's Ericsson on Monday raised its global forecast for 5G mobile subscriptions to 220 million by the end of this year, citing faster than expected uptake in China.

* Shares down 6.6% (Adds analyst comment, CEO comment, updates shares)

Britain's BT has selected Ericsson to provide 5G radio equipment for its EE mobile network in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and other major UK cities, building on the contract it signed earlier this year for core technology.

Ericsson said on Wednesday it had been selected by Britain's BT to provide 5G radio equipment in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and other major UK cities, building on the contract it signed earlier this year for core technology.

European shares slipped on Wednesday as losses in defensive sectors outweighed optimism over encouraging quarterly results from consumer giant Nestle and telecoms equipment maker Ericsson.

* Expects profits from China to improve further (Adds comments from CFO interview, details)

KPN has chosen Sweden's Ericsson to build core elements of its new 5G mobile network following a decision last year not to select China's Huawei, the Dutch telecoms company said on Thursday.

Ericsson has agreed to buy U.S.-based wireless networking company Cradlepoint in a $1.1 billion deal, the Swedish telecoms gear maker said on Friday, as part of plans to expand its 5G-related products for business customers.

A rise in 5G network sales and software revenue helped Ericsson report higher-than-expected quarterly core earnings on Friday, when it said it was sticking to its financial targets for 2020 and 2022.

European shares edged higher on Friday as focus turned to Brussels where European Union leaders are expected to hammer out details of a 750-billion-euro recovery fund, with positive earnings updates from Ericsson, Daimler and other firms also supporting gains.

Sweden's Ericsson reported quarterly core earnings ahead of market estimates on Friday, buoyed by higher margins on the sale of telecom equipment, and said it was keeping its financial targets for 2020 and 2022.

The United States is in talks with Brazil and its local telecommunications companies on funding the acquisition of fifth-generation gear produced by Ericsson and Nokia, U.S. ambassador for Brazil Todd Chapman told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

Two of Canada's largest telecoms firms on Tuesday teamed with Sweden's Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Oyj to build fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks, ditching China's Huawei Technologies for the project.