NEW DELHI: Telecom equipment maker Ericsson on Thursday said it is investing in both infrastructure and innovation in India, describing the country as a very important market for the company. Andres Vicente, Head of Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India at Ericsson, emphasized the need to expand rural 5G coverage.
India’s leading telecom operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, have rapidly deployed 5G networks across the country, with Ericsson as one of their vendors. The initial rollout phase generated strong revenue for Ericsson from the Indian market. However, as the rollouts near completion, the company has witnessed a significant drop in revenue over the past few quarters.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, especially in rural coverage,” Vicente said. “Full 5G coverage is essential, particularly because many of the new use cases rely on connectivity in rural areas. Expanding rural coverage is a key priority.”
Vicente noted that while India has network coverage in 99.9% of its districts, population coverage stands at only around 80%, indicating substantial room for improvement. “As for our business in India, it currently represents about 7% of Ericsson’s global revenues. It’s a very important market for us,” he added.
Ericsson reported net sales of $230 million in India for the second quarter of 2025 (April–June), marking a 32.5% decline compared to the same period last year. This drop was attributed to reduced network investments by Indian telecom operators. The company also saw a 28% year-on-year decline in the first quarter (January–March 2025), as 5G spending slowed following the completion of major deployments.
Speaking on manufacturing in India, he said that Ericsson has already begun producing passive antennas in the country through its partnership with VVDN Technologies, making India one of only four global export hubs for such equipment.
With this development, India now joins China, Romania, and Mexico as the only countries manufacturing and exporting Ericsson’s antenna equipment.
