A consortium of major industry and research partners has launched Digital Arena Sweden, a new national connectivity and next-generation test center.
The initiative represents an investment of more than SEK 300 million aimed at enhancing the country’s long-term digital competitiveness. Supported by Sweden’s innovation agency, Vinnova, through the Avancerad Digitalisering (Advanced Digitalization) innovation program, the collaboration brings together Ericsson, Telia, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (including its subsidiary AstaZero), and Future by Lund, among others.
Focus on 5G, 6G, and AI Integration
Digital Arena Sweden is designed to provide Swedish industry with early access to advanced digital solutions across 5G, 6G, and artificial intelligence (AI). The center will establish a shared digital portal and a common framework for testing, intending to lower barriers to entry for advanced technologies across the broader Swedish innovation ecosystem.
Under the framework of the initiative, Ericsson will lead the establishment of a pre-commercial 6G test environment. This research infrastructure will be developed in collaboration with Lund University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
The new 6G environment will build upon NorthStar, an existing Telia-Ericsson innovation program that provides enterprise access to advanced 5G capabilities.
Cross-Industry Applications and Standardization
The test center is structured to serve a wide range of sectors, enabling industries such as mining, transport, defense, and medical technology (medtech) to explore future 6G applications. In addition to domestic industrial development, data and insights generated at the center are intended to contribute to the global 6G standardization process.
The announcement coincides with the start of Almedalen 2026, where a delegation of Ericsson executives is scheduled to discuss the strategic role of connectivity in national competitiveness. The overarching goal of Digital Arena Sweden is to provide enterprises with a secure environment to couple connectivity and AI, intended to accelerate the timeline between conceptual development and commercial deployment.
Erik Ekudden, CTO, Ericsson, said:
In Sweden, we have extensive experience in driving technological leadership. By creating one of the world’s first test environments for the combination of 5G,6G and AI, several years before the technology becomes commercial, we are ensuring that Swedish industry and research remain at the absolute forefront. For Ericsson, this is an opportunity to define, together with our partners, how a connected society will function, where AI agents, physical AI (robotics), and autonomous systems can be developed and validated to meet the future.
Anders Olsson, CEO, Telia Sweden, said:
Through the new test center, we are opening up for more companies to take part in the latest 5G technology and AI, where we can meet high demands for security and sovereignty. This is a prerequisite for connecting and digitizing the most critical parts of operations and products, but also where the value in terms of efficiency, customer value, and societal benefit is greatest. This is how we can step up the work of both strengthening Sweden’s digital security and competitiveness.