Ericsson has been recognized for "Connecting the Unconnected" by Telecoms.com in their 2014 Industry Awards for the company's involvement in the Millennium Villages Project and Connect To Learn initiative. At the awards ceremony, Ericsson was given special mention for the part it has played towards improving access to healthcare, education and livelihoods through use of technology and the expertise of its employees.

Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Ericsson's VP Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, said of the achievement: "Affordable and accessible mobile broadband can help break the cycle of poverty for millions of people around the world. The Millennium Villages project is a long term commitment for us, and we have seen the transformation over time that mobile brings to even the most remote parts of Africa. We are honored to be recognized for the work we have done with our partners".

Ericsson is the lead technology partner in the Millennium Villages Project and works with the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and Millennium Promise, the organizations that run the integrated development project throughout Africa. Since Ericsson became part of the initiative in 2007, more than 500,000 people in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have benefitted from mobile connectivity.

Through Connect To Learn - a global education initiative led by Columbia University with Millennium Promise, Ericsson combines mobility, broadband and cloud services to promote access to and quality of secondary-school education, with a focus on ensuring that girls complete their full education. The public-private partnership also provides scholarships for girls in the Millennium Villages Project schools.

In three years, 40,000 students in 15 countries have received access to quality educational resources enabled by the cloud based ICT solution deployed. Ericsson also contributes the technical expertise of its employees to support this initiative.