Ericsson sees Indian telecom operators entering the next phase of 5G, with the focus shifting from building out networks to finding services and use cases that can generate additional revenue from the infrastructure already deployed. The Swedish telecom equipment maker believes differentiated connectivity, including through 5G standalone (SA) networks and network slicing, is beginning to move beyond experimentation in India.
“On monetisation, we are clearly moving beyond experimentation,” Nitin Bansal, managing director, Ericsson India, told Fe.
Globally, the number of commercial differentiated-connectivity offerings based on 5G SA network slicing rose from 65 to 84 in six months to June 2026, according to Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report. Bansal said India was following a similar trajectory, with differentiated connectivity beginning to be offered commercially to consumers, while 5G SA and network slicing were creating the foundation for enterprise and fixed wireless access (FWA) use cases.
The opportunity, he said, is increasingly about identifying applications where better network performance has enough value for customers to pay for it. This could include connectivity with higher reliability, lower latency or more predictable performance for specific enterprise applications, rather than selling 5G simply as a faster version of existing mobile services.
AI is expected to strengthen that opportunity from both sides of the network. On one side, operators are already using AI to optimise network performance and resources, improve spectrum and energy efficiency, predict traffic patterns and automate operations. This could help carriers extract greater value from existing networks while keeping operating costs under control.
On the other side, the rapid adoption of AI applications is expected to create new demands on networks. As users increasingly interact with AI rather than simply consume content, uplink traffic could rise, while applications such as AI agents embedded in smartphones and augmented- and virtual-reality devices could require lower latency, greater reliability and more predictable network performance.
Bansal described this as a two-sided opportunity of AI for Networks and Networks for AI. The first involves using AI to make networks more efficient and responsive, while the second involves adapting networks to handle the changing traffic patterns and performance requirements created by AI applications.
Alongside the network business, Ericsson is also expanding the strategic role of its India-based chip-design operations. Eighteen months after expanding its ASIC development unit in Bengaluru, Bansal said the centre’s mandate had widened from engineering support to a broader R&D and innovation role, covering ASIC development, telecom-grade AI, programmable networks and future 6G systems.
Ericsson is also developing its RAN Compute portfolio to support 4G, 5G and 5G Advanced through software-led upgrades, reducing the need for fundamental network resets as requirements change. India is Ericsson’s second-largest market globally and its largest employee base, with more than 20,500 employees.