Ericsson to export India-made antennas to Europe, says India has 6G edge

Ericsson will export antennas manufactured in India to Europe and other global markets, as the Swedish telecom equipment maker looks to expand the country’s role from a manufacturing base to a global export hub, the company announced at India Mobile Congress 2026 today.

Ericsson has produced more than 15,000 antennas and 25 million components in India since July 2025, with the India-made antennas now being exported to Europe and other global markets. The antennas are designed to support 5G Standalone, AI-ready networks and future network evolution.

Andrés Vicente, CEO, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson, said India’s scale in 5G has given the country a competitive advantage as the industry prepares for the next generation of telecom networks. India has completed its transition to 5G Standalone, making its networks more programmable and allowing operators to offer differentiated connectivity, Vicente said.

The country has more than 430 million 5G mobile subscriptions, accounting for about 35% of total subscriptions, while 43% of mobile traffic is now carried over 5G, according to Vicente. India also has 95% mid-band 5G population coverage, compared with around 45% globally. “The most impressive figure is the deployment of mid-band in India,” Vicente said, pointing to the gap between India’s 95% population coverage and the global figure.

The high level of 5G adoption is also translating into heavy data consumption. India has among the highest mobile data usage per user globally, with users consuming around 35 GB of data a month. 

AI to reshape networks as India moves towards 6G

Vicente said the evolution of telecom networks will increasingly be driven by the interaction between AI, devices and network infrastructure. AI will require networks with higher uplink capacity and lower latency, particularly for applications such as autonomous vehicles and drones. At the same time, AI can be used within networks to make them more intelligent and responsive to users’ requirements.

The location of AI inference will also become increasingly important, with workloads potentially being processed in data centres, at the edge or directly on devices. This could give network operators and governments greater control over where AI workloads and data are processed. “AI is becoming a use case for 5G,” Vicente said, adding that the combination of intelligent networks and AI will eventually lead towards autonomous networks.

Ericsson is also expanding its India research and development footprint. The company has 22,000 employees in India, including around 2,200 working in R&D, according to Vicente. More than 200 professionals in Bengaluru are working on ASIC design, as Ericsson develops its own semiconductor capabilities. The company is also manufacturing radio equipment and antennas in India as part of its Make in India strategy. The latest antenna manufacturing push is intended not only to serve the domestic market but also international customers. “India is not only a market, but also a manufacturing hub,” Vicente said.