Ericsson, the telecom equipment maker headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, will export to Europe the antennas it makes in India. Andres Vicente, the company’s Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania, and India, announced the plan on Wednesday at India Mobile Congress 2026, according to a Press Trust of India report carried by The Economic Times.
What Ericsson makes in India
Vicente said Ericsson began work in India in 1903 and became the first global telecom manufacturer to produce there in 1994. He said the company now builds every 4G and 5G radio used in the country inside India. It also makes the antennas that carry massive MIMO and the antennas used to bring artificial intelligence into the network.
India already exports from this base, Vicente said. The new plan extends it to Europe.
The 5G case he made for India
Vicente argued that the speed of India’s 5G rollout gives the country an edge on 6G. He cited these figures:
- Mid-band 5G reaches 95% of India’s population, against 45% worldwide.
- India has 430 million 5G mobile subscriptions, which is 35% of all subscriptions.
- 5G carries 43% of mobile data traffic.
- Usage per customer is the highest in the world, at thirty-five gigabytes.
He said India has finished its move to 5G standalone. In his view, that leaves networks that run in the cloud and can be programmed, which he called the ingredients for 6G. He also said artificial intelligence will reshape telecom in two ways: artificial intelligence that runs networks, and networks built to carry artificial intelligence. That will require computing power at many points in the network, he said.
Why this matters
For American and European equipment buyers, the announcement shows a global supplier treating India as a source of finished telecom hardware, and not only as a market. Companies that sell to carriers on both continents should watch whether other equipment makers follow, and whether the plan comes with shipment figures once Ericsson gives them.
