Ericsson is boosting the scale of one of its Indian manufacturing plants to meet demand for 5G equipment from its customers in the market.
The vendor manufactures 4G and 5G equipment in partnership with Jabil at a facility in Pune, and is now scaling up operations. Ericsson has won 5G contracts with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, and is helping the operators to deploy their networks this autumn.
Nitin Bansal, head of Ericsson India, said that the vendor was aiming for the local manufacture of all 5G equipment destined for the Indian market, saying: “we have done that for 4G and we will ensure that we hit the milestone for 5G as well.”
Bansal noted that Ericsson was also working with Vi (Vodafone Idea), noting that the operator’s timeline for deploying 5G was still in progress. The Economic Times reports that Vi has been struggling to confirm contracts for 5G equipment supply and tower tenancies, with vendors arguing that the operator must not only settle up on overdue 4G deals, but also pay in advance for new contracts.
However, this has not stopped Vi from announcing new deals, including a partnership with OnePlus, which was named by Counterpoint Research as the leading brand in the Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 (roughly US$250-US$350) segment for the first half of 2022 in terms of online sales. The smartphone maker’s latest devices have been successfully tested on Vi’s 5G spectrum in Delhi.
