Q) Can you share your insights on the India opportunity for Ericsson?
A) We have been a partner to India’s telecom industry for almost 120 years and we continue to power every facet of telecommunications in the country. We are committed to help Indian service providers deploy 5G networks in the country. There is a huge interest for 5G in India. As per the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G subscriptions will reach around 31 million by the end of 2022 and 690 million by the end of 2028. Further, 5G will represent around 53% of mobile subscriptions at the end of 2028.
5G will play a crucial role in achieving India’s digital inclusion goals especially for bringing broadband to rural and remote homes.
Q) What are the 5G use cases that you see emerging in India?
A) Initially, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) are expected to be the early use-cases for 5G in India, which will help address the concern of the limited fixed broadband penetration levels in the country and improve the data experience while on the move.
The average data traffic per smartphone in the India region is the highest globally. It is projected to grow from 25 GB per month in 2022 to around 54 GB per month in 2028 – a CAGR of 14%. This is driven by high growth in the number of smartphone users and the increase in average usage per smartphone.
For enterprises, sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, energy and utilities, automotive and public safety will be the top industries to leverage 5G for digital transformations.
The initial use-case of a private 5G network for any geography will be around gaining operational flexibility, efficiencies, and reliability etc.
Q) You have increased your investments in manufacturing in India. Any comments?
A) As 5G gets introduced in India, we are scaling up the production capacity and operations with our partner Jabil in Pune in a phased manner to meet the needs of 5G network deployments in India. The production in India is part of our global production footprint with a presence across continents. This footprint has enabled us to secure a global, flexible, and resilient supply chain to respond quickly to market and customer needs, whereby India also benefits.
The production ramp-up will expand operations with high-technology production and will also generate employment for around 2,000 people in Pune, India.
Q) Your thoughts on the Government’s desire to make India an export hub for radio equipment?
A) We welcome the Government’s desire to make India as an export hub and a strong thriving telecom ecosystem in the country will undoubtedly boost manufacturing in the country.
In fact, Ericsson was the first telecom vendor to manufacture in the country and as I mentioned earlier, we are ramping up production to cater to the deployment needs of our Indian customers.
