‘India has a lifetime opportunity…’: Ericsson plans to manufacture all telecom gear it sells in India
New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson plans to locally manufacture every telecom equipment it sells in India, including 6G equipment, a senior company official said on Thursday.
Andres Vicente, Head of Market Area Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, told PTI that the company expects to start 6G trials by 2028, but commercial deployment of the technology will take some more time.
“Our intention is to manufacture in India everything we sell in India,” Vicente said at the India Mobile Congress 2025.
The company currently manufactures 4G and 5G equipment in India and exports them to Asian countries as well.
The company recently expanded its ASIC (application specific integrated chips) R&D in Bengaluru and started passive antenna manufacturing in India in collaboration with VVDN Technologies.
Emphasis on local production
Vicente said the company plans to expand its ASIC R&D facility team to 150 positions.
He said Ericsson is constantly increasing the added value in locally produced equipment.
“I think India has an opportunity of a lifetime to become an alternative ecosystem where all the components are manufactured here. We all need to be conscious that we are still importing most of the components into India to develop these very advanced products. We need to change this by investing holistically not only in mainstream brands like Ericsson but also in the ecosystem of components, filters, batteries, caps and many other things,” Vicente said.
Apart from telecommunications products, Ericsson is also diversifying its technology solutions into other sectors including Railways.
The company is also deploying ATM-like food grain kiosks, 5G-enabled Grain ATM Annapurti, in India in partnership with the World Food Programme.
Vicente said Annapurti, a 5G-enabled Grain ATM made in India, dispenses multiple food grains with precision of 25 to 30 kg in just 30 seconds using Aadhaar-based biometrics.
Deployed in cities like Shillong, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Bhopal, the initiative supports the One Nation One Ration Card programme, which provides 24-hour access to essential food grains.
“Over the next year, 23 new, highly automated Annapurti machines will be deployed across India, highlighting how 5G can improve digital inclusion and food safety,” he said.
