The factory will be fully-automated so it will only have to hire 100 Americans and will be used to produce 5G radios designed for urban areas. It will also make Advanced Antenna System radios that it said are components for large-scale deployments of 4G and 5G networks for both rural and urban coverage.

Ericsson executive vice president and head of networks Fredrik Jejdling said: “With today's announcement, we conclude months of preparations and can move into execution in the US" which sounds rather drastic, but they do have the death penalty over there so it is possible.

"In addition, we are digitalising our entire global production landscape, including establishing this factory in the US. With 5G connectivity we're accelerating Industry 4.0, enabling automated factories for the future." 

Ericsson did not provide details about where the factory will be located, but the company has plans to initially employ around 100 people at the factory, which will have "highly automated operations".

Ericsson's announcement to build a 5G factory in the US also follows US President Donald Trump in recent months banning companies from using telco equipment made by its competitor Huawei.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai applauded Ericsson's announcement. "Building 5G equipment in the United States is good for our economy, good for the supply chain, and good for the rapid rollout of the next generation of wireless connectivity in the United States.

Ericsson is currently signed on by T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, US Cellular, and GCI to help build out their respective 5G mobile networks.

According to the Ericsson's latest mobility report, North America is expected to lead in the adoption of 5G, with the company predicting that 63 percent of North American mobile subscriptions will be 5G-based in 2024.