When the CTO of one of the world’s most influential wireless technology company decides to move his office from the motherland to another country you can definitely state that this is a significant move.

First Ericsson buys the infrastructure unit of Nortel. Now a few months later Ericsson announces Chief Technology Officer Håkan Eriksson is moving to Silicon Valley. I would say that this is a big deal.

Analysts should not in any way interpret this move as a sign of more jobs in the United States. The move represents a strategic and tactical initiative of Ericsson. The company is obviously taking steps to aggressively further its IP-based programs and plans. The fact that Ericsson is one of the only vendors left that actually manufactures both infrastructure equipment and handsets is a huge advantage for Ericsson.

The fact that Ericsson is not a huge supporter of WiMAX is a non-issue to me. Intel is the force behind WiMAX. If analysts wish to suggest that this spells the end of WiMAX they would be wrong. Ericsson is massive in its industry sector. Intel is bigger in terms of breadth and depth in its sector. Think Goliath versus Goliath. Ericsson’s lack of support for WiMAX will not hurt WiMAX. So no story here. WiMAX will be given new life when Sprint Nextel and Comcast realize a merger between them is necessary and a good thing. However, that is for another blog posting.

What does this move mean? Use your imagination.

Ericsson could be making major headlines in 2010.