Ericsson chief executive officer Börje Ekholm has said AGR relief for Vodafone Idea has strengthened India’s three-player telecom structure, setting the stage for renewed investment and innovation.
Even as the Swedish company continues global restructuring, Ekholm does not expect a significant impact on India operations, describing the country as a “very material and strategic asset” for Ericsson, a dominant player in the Indian telecom equipment market.
“This development solidifies India as a three-player market. That is still a good market structure. I am optimistic that, over time, this will lead to innovation on top of a very robust mobile network in India,” Ekholm told Moneycontrol in an interview.
The government in December froze Vodafone Idea’s adjusted gross revenue dues at Rs 87,695 crore, while approving a staggered repayment plan allowing the debt-laden telco to clear the liabilities between FY32 and FY41.
Signalling a stronger year ahead, Ekholm said operating conditions in India are set to improve, even as the industry transitions beyond the peak of its record 5G rollout cycle. “I think this year we will see improving conditions in India for us,” he said.
India accounted for 5 percent of Ericsson’s global revenue in the October–December quarter. Asked whether this could scale up to 7 percent, as in 2024, on the back of higher expected capex by telcos, he said, “I am very optimistic about the (AGR) development. We will see where it ends up.”
India a strategic asset
Ericsson is expected to continue with lay-offs as part of its cost-cutting and restructuring effort, having reduced headcount by 5,000 over the past year. Ekholm, however, said he does not expect a significant impact on India operations, where Ericsson has a large workforce.
“We try to make ourselves efficient on a global basis. India has a highly skilled workforce, and we have a very strong presence there. This allows us to use capabilities in India globally. Exactly how this will pan out, I cannot say,” he said.
Any efficiency measures undertaken globally will be considered across markets but that India is a very material and strategic asset for the company, he said.
“Also, India has a slightly different voluntary attrition pattern compared to other countries, which in a way resolves redundancy situations relatively quickly,” Ekholm.
Last year, the company expanded its local manufacturing by starting production of passive antennas in partnership with VVDN Technologies, making India one of only four global export hubs for such equipment.
On investments and expansion in India in 2026, the CEO said, “It is all linked to business volume What we have done over the past few years — and what will continue — is that since India is a key market for us where we need a strong presence, we want to be part of the ecosystem in India.”
This means investing in R&D, manufacturing and overall presence. “Exactly when and how future investments will look, we will come back to. But our commitment to being a strong partner in India’s digitalisation is very firm,” he said.
Ericsson operates major R&D centres in Chennai, Bengaluru and Gurugram across packet core, transport, OSS/BSS, cloud and AI, with around 2,300 professionals in India. Recently, it expanded into ASIC development in Bengaluru, adding over 150 roles and deepening its footprint in the semiconductor ecosystem.
The company is also setting up a new RAN Software R&D unit in Bengaluru to develop 5G and 5G Advanced features for its 5G baseband, in close collaboration with global RAN teams.
India is a front-runner market for the Swedish telecom gear maker, he said, adding that it is a strategically prioritised market. “You can look at it from a size point of view, but it is equally important from an adaptability and front-runner portfolio perspective. The growth we continue to see will, over time, lead to investment needs,” he said.
India saw the fastest 5G build-out ever, completed in 2023, leading to the creation of massive capacity that usage is now growing into.
“So you may see a slightly slower market in the short term. But in the longer term, I am equally optimistic that it will return to a much better investment climate,” he said.
AI investments
Artificial intelligence has been a major theme globally and in telecom. Nvidia recently announced a billion-dollar deal with Nokia for AI Radio Access Network (RAN) and data centre solutions.
Asked whether Ericsson is pursuing similar collaborations, the CEO said the company’s strategy has been firm for quite some time and that it collaborates with all hardware providers.
“A billion dollars is a significant investment but we spend about $5 billion annually on R&D. Consider the scale. Our strategy is to separate hardware and software, making our solutions hardware-independent,” he said.
AI will be critical in RAN and that is the reason Ericsson part of the AI RAN consortium. “We already use AI in our networks — for energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency, and overall network operations. AI is already an integral part of our networks.
“The reason is to give customers flexibility to choose the most competitive hardware layer at any point in time. We have chosen a slightly different strategic approach,” he said.
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