Ericsson to export India-made antennas to Europe: How the country’s 5G success is powering the leap to 6G

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson will export antennas manufactured in India to European markets as the company expands its local manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, a senior executive said on Wednesday.

The company also sees India’s rapid 5G rollout as giving the country a competitive advantage as the telecom industry prepares to move towards 6G.

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2026, Andres Vicente, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson, highlighted the scale of India’s 5G deployment and its potential to support the next generation of mobile networks.

“We feel very proud to say that we started our journey in India in 1903. This is 123 years ago, and then we were the first manufacturer in order to produce in India in 1994. We set our own manufacturing capacities in India. Today, we produce all the 4G and 5G radios that are used in the country, within the country. We also produce the antennas that are being used for massive MIMO and artificial intelligence introduction in India. And we not only produce for India, but we also export from India.

“Today, we are making the announcement that we will export to Europe all the capabilities and antennas that we are manufacturing here in India,” Vicente said.

India has competitive advantage in move towards 6G

Vicente said India’s mid-band 5G coverage has reached 95% of the population, compared with 45% globally.

He said the rapid deployment of 5G has positioned India well for the transition towards 6G, as much of the difficult work of establishing the right network architecture has already been completed.

According to Vicente, India’s transition to 5G standalone has also been completed. This has resulted in cloud-driven and programmable networks capable of offering differentiated connectivity, which he described as key building blocks for the evolution towards 6G.

India has 430 million 5G subscriptions

India currently has around 430 million 5G mobile subscriptions, accounting for 35% of the country’s total mobile subscriptions, Vicente said.

He added that 5G networks currently carry 43% of India’s mobile data traffic, highlighting the rapid adoption of the technology in the country.

“India is the country with the highest usage in the world per customer,” he said, putting the figure at 35 gigabytes. He said usage is growing across categories, including video and gaming.

AI to reshape telecom networks

Artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the telecom industry in two major ways — AI for networks and networks for AI, Vicente said.

To prepare networks for the growing use of AI, telecom infrastructure will need additional computing capabilities at multiple levels. This will help networks become more efficient, intelligent, intent-driven and increasingly autonomous.

Telecom networks will also require significant investments in uplink performance and low-latency connectivity to support emerging AI applications such as autonomous vehicles and drones.

Vicente said bringing AI computing and inference closer to the network represents a major opportunity for telecom operators and governments, particularly as countries seek greater control and sovereignty over AI capabilities.

Ericsson crosses 15,000-antenna milestone in India

Ericsson said it has produced more than 15,000 antennas and 25 million components in India since July 2025 as part of the expansion of its local antenna manufacturing ecosystem.

The company began producing export-ready antennas in India in 2025 and has since expanded its capabilities across sourcing, engineering, manufacturing and exports.

The locally manufactured equipment is being supplied to customers in India and international markets, with Europe emerging as an export destination.

“Antennas manufactured in India are being exported to Europe and other global markets, strengthening India’s role in Ericsson’s global engineering, manufacturing and supply footprint,” the company said.

Antennas play key role in next-generation networks

Ericsson said antennas will become increasingly important as mobile networks evolve towards 5G standalone, AI-driven operations and future network architectures.

The company’s Ericsson Antenna System is designed to help communications service providers improve network coverage and capacity, enhance uplink performance, use spectrum more efficiently and reduce energy consumption.

Mikael Eriksson, Head of Ericsson Antenna System at Ericsson, said the company is developing an end-to-end antenna ecosystem in India that combines local sourcing and manufacturing with Ericsson’s global engineering capabilities.

“As networks become more intelligent and programmable, antenna performance will be increasingly important in getting the most from spectrum, sites and network investments. Expanding these capabilities in India strengthens both our ability to serve customers locally and India’s contribution to Ericsson’s global operations,” Eriksson said.