Nitin Bansal, Head of India and SEAO Networks at Ericsson, stated that India’s telecom market has not yet reached a plateau, and the growth in data consumption, emerging AI applications, and further 5G adoption are expected to sustain network demand.

Bansal stated in an interview during the recently concluded India Mobile Congress: “We don’t believe growth has peaked. With AI applications introducing new network demands—including higher uplink speeds and lower latency required for applications like augmented reality, virtual reality, and critical infrastructure management—growth will continue. Network expectations will keep rising, and data consumption will further increase.”

He added, “According to Ericsson’s June 2026 Mobile Report, we have already seen a monthly data usage of approximately 36 to 37GB per user, a level that was unimaginable just a few years ago. Meanwhile, 5G currently serves only about one-third of India’s population, and there remains significant room for expansion as new use cases emerge.” Therefore, India’s next phase of growth will be driven not only by increased data consumption but also by AI applications requiring higher uplink speeds and lower latency.

In 2025, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India accounted for 12% of Ericsson’s business, down from 20% in 2023. The company competes in the Indian market with rivals such as Nokia and Samsung.

Monetization of 5G

Since launching its 5G service in October 2022, India has established one of the world’s largest 5G markets. According to government data released on the IMC, by September 2026, India had approximately 550 million 5G subscribers, with service coverage reaching 99.9% of the country. India aims to achieve 1 billion 5G users by 2030.

For Indian telecom operators, the challenge lies in converting the expanding adoption of 5G into revenue growth. The initial deployment focused on enhanced mobile broadband, followed by fixed wireless access, leveraging wireless networks to provide broadband connectivity for homes and businesses.

According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, as of the end of August 2026, there were 13.45 million 5G fixed wireless access users, highlighting the role of this technology in expanding broadband access.

Operators are also exploring the use of 5G to offer more differentiated services. India’s second-largest service provider, Bharti Airtel, recently launched 5G network slicing-based services, providing faster and more reliable 5G services to its postpaid users.

When asked whether Indian telecom operators should have adopted a phased approach in 5G deployment rather than rolling out a nationwide network as one of the fastest pan-India deployments, Bansal stated: “5G is not a use case issue for India’s network. India needs capacity, and 5G delivers it in the most efficient manner. Therefore, rather than expanding 4G, I believe India made the right move by transitioning to 5G. The true value of 5G lies in ubiquitous coverage. With our strong coverage and extensive 5G standalone network deployments, this unlocks other monetization possibilities.”

Bansal believes new use cases will emerge in the coming months. “I believe we are on the right track and more monetization use cases should appear in the next few months.”

He also pointed out that although India’s existing network can support AI applications, operators need to optimize it based on the requirements of specific applications.