Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has received a new multi-billion dollar contract for selling 5G equipment from India’s Bharti Airtel, two sources familiar with the matter said.

This comes after Ericsson got part of a $3.6 billion (roughly Rs. 30,259 crore) contract last month for selling 5G equipment to India’s Vodafone Idea. It shared the contract with Nokia and Samsung.

The new contracts are expected to boost Ericsson’s revenue next year after seeing a big fall in contracts from India in the first half of the year.

Sales in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India had decreased by 44 percent in the second quarter. Ericsson will announce its third-quarter results on Tuesday.

Much of the deployment is likely to happen next year, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Ericsson declined to comment. Airtel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares in Ericsson rose as much as 1.8 percent after the Reuters story.

Demand from the Indian 5G market started to skyrocket in 2023, when sales from the region grew as much as five times, as Airtel and Jio, the telecoms unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, started to scale up 5G services.

That demand cushioned a slowdown in revenue from Ericsson’s main US market where telecom operators have been lowering spending.

Global telecom equipment revenue had dropped 16 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, recording a fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit contractions, according to research firm Dell’Oro.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest engineering base for American semiconductor giant Qualcomm – bigger than even home market US – as the company rides on high-end local technical talent as well as affordable costs to develop solutions that are deployed across global markets.
Such has been the success of the company’s work in India that Qualcomm is now looking to ramp up manpower and solution development across its key locations, country president Savi Soin said.
“I don’t want to say the number, but we have more engineers now in India than we have anywhere else in the globe… India is absolutely, essentially the core, (and) very, very important for Qualcomm,” Soin told TOI.

“For every one engineer or a team that we hire here, we have a lot of our partners coming up right next to us so that they can work closely with us in terms of specs, access to tech, partnerships, and so on and so forth. So, once we set up shop, a lot of our partners from the globe set up right next to us to get access to technology (and) work with us.”
The company has multiple development centres spread across Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Noida. “I’d say they’re the best in class in terms of chip design, hardware, and software. We’ve been doing it for the globe for quite some time. We’ve been here for almost 20 years. It was all baby steps initially, but now they do a lot of work here,” Soin said, adding, “Some of the chips being used in India are actually completely designed here.”
On creating new jobs, he said the company is doing a “lot of hiring” in India. “You will see us hiring folks in our development centers as well as in the business teams… you’ll see us very active in India… we continue to hire the best and we continue to invest in the best.”
Asked about business prospects for Qualcomm in India, especially as digital has been growing rapidly, he said there are a variety of industries where the company expects opportunities. “India as a market has become very important for us… With 5G being pan-India, there is an opportunity around 5G devices and its use cases… We’re making 5G more affordable (and) accessible. The second thing is about connectivity at home. Here fixed wireless access becomes very important, so that people can get access to broadband. So, we’re partnering companies for launching fixed wireless at home. Third is about premiumisation in vehicles as people want rich displays, and rich functionality. We are working very closely with automakers in India to bring alive digital experiences, both in four- and two-wheelers.”
Soin said other areas critical for Qualcomm’s business include internet of things (IoT), point of sale terminals, and AI-based cameras, where the company can work out software and hardware solutions. “And then the one that we are probably most excited about is the AI computers, which – for example – can offer functionalities such as eye tracking, noise cancellation, natural language translation, etc.”

The seventh edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2023 kicked off on Friday with the inauguration by Prime Minister Modi at Bharat Mandapam. This year’s event is centred around the theme of Global Digital Innovation, with exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge technologies such as satellite communication, 6G demo, and other use cases.

The first day of the event saw dignitaries like Akash Ambani, Chairman – of Reliance Jio, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, and Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, attending the inaugural session of IMC 2023. Unlike last year, where the 5G rollout announcement was a big draw for the event, this year, we saw multiple demo sessions and other key announcements, which we will cover in this article, making the main headlines. 

100 5G Labs

The first big announcement was about establishing 100 5G labs across India to promote students, professors, startups, and MSMEs to work on 5G technology in various fields like health, agriculture, manufacturing and more. These labs will be set up in academic institutions in multiple states, including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Telangana, Karnataka and more. The names of institutions have been announced, and they include IIT Guwahati, IIT Silchar, Delhi Technological University, Jamia Hamdard University, Birla Institute of Technology Mesra, and more.

JioSpaceFiber

At the IMC 2023 event, Reliance Jio demonstrated the country’s first satellite-based Gigabit broadband service to provide high-speed internet in previously inaccessible geographies. At the event, Jio demoed how they are offering internet to four locations, which are remote in location, including Gir Gujarat, Korba Chattisgarh, Nabrangpur Odissa, and Jorhat Assam. At the moment, there’s no word when the service will be widely available to users. 

Introducing JioSpaceFiber, India’s first Gigabit Satellite Connectivity . Visit Jio pavilion at India Mobile Congress 2023 to know more. #JioAtIMC #Jio #JioSpaceFiber #IMC2023 pic.twitter.com/V62cwUF4u7

— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) October 27, 2023

Reliance Jio also showcased the Jio Glass, a mixed-reality handset, at IMC 2023. Announced at the company’s 43rd annual general meeting, Jio Glass was available for demo paired to a OnePlus Nord smartphone. We tried it briefly for a few minutes, and it seemed decent. 

6G Sensing Demo

Nokia presented a demo of its 6G network, which can act as a radar and sense objects, people, and movements without compromising privacy. This situational awareness will give individuals a digital 6th sense, enabling them to gather information about their surroundings, see around corners, and even interact with objects from a distance. Nokia showcased a live demonstration of this 6G sensing capability using prototype radio equipment. The company also highlighted its smart and safe railway networks (NCRTC) and its collaboration with Alstom to deliver a private wireless network for (NCRTC) Delhi to Meerut RRTS. It is claimed to be the world’s first LTE/4.9G private wireless network that supports European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 Signaling. The private network being deployed enables trains to continuously receive their movement authorities using radio signals and report their exact direction and position to ensure the safety of all on board. The low-emission RRTS will transport more people at average speeds of 100 kmph, reducing travel time and road congestion.

RedCap Technology Demo

Reduced Capability (RedCap) solution aims to bring down complexity and extend the battery life of devices while delivering higher data rates/ speeds. RedCap is a new radio access network (RAN) software solution by Ericsson that creates new 5G use cases and enables more 5G connections from devices such as smartwatches, other wearables, industrial sensors and AR/VR devices. At the IMC 2023, Ericsson and Airtel partnered with Qualcomm to demonstrate Reduced Capability (RedCap) device capabilities. Earlier this month, Ericsson’s pre-commercial Reduced Capability (RedCap) software was successfully tested on the Airtel 5G network.

How Airtel is solving network problems with AI

Airtel’s A-SON solution isn’t a new proposition, but it attracted us to demo how this works in a region. Airtel claims that its AI-powered Self Optimising Network or A-SON is reimaging network experience. The system detects anomalies and solves them with AI without any manual intervention. The solution is designed in a way to predict issues that the Airtel networks will face in future and ensure that the team resolves them beforehand. Notably, the solution is fully designed by Airtel and was first introduced in March 2022.

Additionally, Airtel also demonstrated how its Xtream AirFiber works for areas where it has no fiber or broadband connectivity. Currently, the service is available in select regions like Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida.

Apart from showcasing live 5G experiences at IMC 2023, Vi demonstrated various use cases spanning Enterprise, Consumer, and Community Development, highlighting the vast potential of technology and 5G.

OnePlus Nord 3 brings some serious upgrades over its predecessor, including some flagship-grade specifications. We discuss this and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.