Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of industry and commerce, visits the Swedish headquarters of Ericsson, the telecom-gear maker, to meet the Ericsson team led by Erik Ekudden, CTO of Ericsson. The team showcased Ericsson’s latest products and innovations to the Indian delegation led by Mr. Piyush Goyal. The team presented the Indian delegation with demos at the company’s Imagine Studio in Stockholm, following discussions about Ericsson’s Indian operations and capabilities in a closed meeting with Minister Goyal. 

Among the innovations witnessed by the Indian delegation was a 5G-connected screwdriver at the Ericsson Imagine Studio in Stockholm. More than 21,500 of Ericsson’s approximately 93,000 global workforce are employed in India, of which more than 2,000 work in R&D, making India Ericsson’s largest workforce on a country basis.

Strategic Importance of India 

“It was a great honor to host Minister Goyal and his delegation at the Ericsson Imagine Studio,” Ekudden said. “India is a strategically important country for Ericsson—not just as a vital and highly skilled part of our global employee base, but also as a frontrunner 5G market, with great potential to benefit from programmable network capabilities and connectivity innovation.

To read the latest speech given by MoS Telecom at the 1st BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting, click here! 

Ericsson’s India Engagements 

Ericsson was the first telecom company to begin manufacturing in India back in 1994 and has since substantially expanded its local production and R&D capabilities. Today, it manufactures 4G and 5G network infrastructure at its Pune facility in partnership with Jabil. In a further boost to its localization efforts, Ericsson Antenna System (EAS) recently began producing antennas in India through a collaboration with technology partner VVDN Technologies.

Taking into account Ericsson’s strategic partnership with India’s telcos, including Bharti Airtel, underlines its role in India’s economic and telecom landscape. It also highlights the partnership it has played over time to make connectivity and development reach Indian households hand in hand.

To read about the latest contract won by Ericsson from Bharti Airtel, click here! 

At this important juncture, the minister’s visit to the company’s headquarters highlights India’s ambitions to emerge as a global player in the telecom supply chain and consequently in the upcoming 6G research, development, and deployment worldwide.