(Telecompaper) Ericsson and STMicroelectronics have reached agreement on a plan to split up their ST-Ericsson venture, and announced the appointment of ST-Ericsson COO Carlo Ferro as the venture's CEO from 1 April. The agreed split-up will see Ericsson take on the design, development and sales of LTE multimode thin modem products, including 2G, 3G and 4G multimode. ST will take on the other ST-Ericsson products and related businesses, as well as some assembly and test facilities. The transfer of ownership is expected to be completed during the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval. The remaining parts of ST-Ericsson will be closed down, with the potential loss of 1,600 jobs.