The consumer segment is leading 5G monetization in India but the enterprise segment may hold the key for “real long-term value creation potential,” believes Nitin Bansal, Ericsson’s managing director for India and head of networks in South East Asia, Oceania and India.
“Today, the consumer segment is leading monetization, primarily driven by eMBB [Enhanced Mobile Broadband] and the growing demand for high-quality video streaming, gaming and digital content. We are also seeing a strong momentum in Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) driven by Jio and Airtel launching their services, which is helping bridge the digital divide by delivering high-speed broadband to underserved areas,” said Bansal in an email interaction.
He believes it is “just a matter of time before we see 5G deployments by enterprises. Over 52% of Indian enterprises plan to adopt 5G, according to an Omdia-Ericsson study, with growing interest in using the technology to modernize operations and drive efficiency. Go-to-market models, device readiness and integration frameworks need to align, and India is moving in that direction.”
“We are at the beginning of 5G adoption by enterprises. The deployment of private and virtual private networks, edge-enabled applications, and RedCap-based IoT connectivity is opening new possibilities across manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and utilities,” added Bansal.
India has over 250 million 5G subscribers since the launch of services by the country’s top two telcos, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, in October 2022. Both the telcos claim 5G coverage of over 90% of the country’s population.
Besides the enterprise segment, API-based innovation will also help in developing a 5G-based ecosystem in India. “Another inflection point will come from network programmability. With operators like Jio and Airtel joining the Ericsson-led Aduna initiative, India is poised to become a hub for API-driven innovation,” says Bansal.
Globally, 5G monetization has emerged as a concern, with service providers having made significant investments in building 5G networks, but a lack of killer use cases is leading to low and delayed Return on investment (ROI). The enterprise use cases, like private 5G networks, were supposed to help telcos in developing new revenue streams but that is yet to pick up in India.
India is one of the largest markets for telecom vendors, including Ericsson and its competitor, Nokia. Now that the 5G deployment cycle has come to an end for Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, their capital expenditure has stabilised. Limited monetization of their 5G investments might have also pushed the telcos to tighten their purses. This is reflected in Ericsson’s declining revenue in the Indian market.Â
“Ericsson has for the past five quarters shown a YoY decline in sales in its India segment owing to Jio/Bharti completing their pan-India 5G rollout. It has specifically called out the normalization of investments in India as a reason for the region’s decline,” Axis Capital said in a recent research note according to a media report. Â
At the same time, Ericsson has announced a few deals recently. Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest service provider, awarded a 5G deal to Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung late last year. In addition, Ericsson announced a 5G core deal with Airtel to help the service provider transition from 5G Non-Standalone (5G NSA) to 5G Standalone (5G SA). Airtel also awarded Ericsson a multi-year, multi-billion extension deal for 4G and 5G RAN products and solutions in December 2024.
Ericsson announced recently that by June 2025, it would localize 100% of its antenna production for the Indian market. It has collaborated with VVDN, an Indian manufacturer, to produce antennas in the country. The company has manufacturing units in Mexico, Romania and China.
Focus network APIs and AI-driven network automationÂ
One of the key focus areas for Ericsson this year are APIs. Both Airtel and Jio joined Ericsson’s Aduna, which aims to create standard APIs to allow developers to access and monetize network capabilities like location and fraud detection, among others.
“Globally, we’re already seeing encouraging momentum. For instance, in the US, three major operators recently launched a Fraud Detection API through Aduna, demonstrating how network capabilities can be productized and monetized in real-world use cases. With both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel on board, we believe we’re in a strong position to drive similar developments in India,” says Bansal.
“India is uniquely positioned to build a thriving ecosystem of network-aware applications, and the key aspect is Aduna’s potential to empower the vibrant startup ecosystem in the country. Through this initiative, we aim to expose developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to the capabilities of the 5G network,” adds Bansal. He is referring to the fact that India is home to one of the largest bases of technology startups. Â
Ericsson is not the only vendor focusing on network APIs. Nokia has also launched Network as Code to enable developers to access telcos’ network capabilities to develop new use cases. Besides, there are industry initiatives like GSMA’s Open Gateway that are helping build the API ecosystem.
Commenting on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform communications networks in India, Bansal said, “In India, where data volumes are massive and customer expectations are high, AI will help automate network operations, predict faults and ensure better user experiences. It will also play a key role in improving energy efficiency, a growing priority for both operators and the government.”
About the Author
Contributing Editor
With more than a decade of experience, Gagandeep Kaur Sodhi has worked for the most prominent Indian communications industry publications including Dataquest, Business Standard, The Times of India, and Voice&Data, as well as for Light Reading. Delhi-based Kaur, who has knowledge of and covers a broad range of telecom industry developments, regularly interacts with the senior management of companies in India’s telecom sector and has been directly responsible for delegate and speaker acquisition for prominent events such as Mobile Broadband Summit, 4G World India, and Next Generation Packet Transport Network.