How advanced connectivity is powering the engine of Digital India

Andrés Vicente, Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania & India at Ericsson, discusses how Ericsson helps strengthen the digital infrastructure in India to empower innovation

If you haven’t been to India recently, it’s hard to imagine the speed and scale of its digital transformation. It’s truly remarkable how a country of more than a billion people has transformed into a true digital frontrunner in such a short amount of time.

Today, India has over 270 million 5G subscriptions, representing the highest data consumption globally. Most recently, we saw the benefits of connectivity during Maha Kumbh 2025, the world’s largest spiritual gathering in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Held for the first time in 144 years, the event attracted more than 660 million people, leading to an unprecedented traffic surge that was smoothly handled by the nation’s networks.

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is perhaps the clearest example of the transformative societal impact of open, scalable, digital platforms. Launched in 2016, UPI supports instant fund transfers, bill payments, and merchant transactions through a seamless and secure interface.

In 2024, UPI handled approximately 172 billion transactions, reflecting a 46 percent increase from the 118 billion transactions processed in 2023. The total transaction value in 2024 surged by 35 percent, rising to USD 2.873 trillion from USD 2.129 trillion in 2023.

UPI’s easy-to-use interface has enabled millions of previously unbanked individuals to access financial services, contributing to India’s drive toward a cashless economy and promoting financial inclusion.

India has become the next digital powerhouse

To succeed in the digital era, countries must invest in and lead the digital stack, with mobile connectivity as a key component.

The remarkable achievement of UPI serves as a prime example, demonstrating how connectivity enables digital services to scale effectively. This success story is not limited to UPI—it can be extended to other transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing. These innovations further accelerate digitalization, enhancing how we interact with the digital world. The power of connectivity is at the core of this revolution, allowing services to seamlessly flourish and reach more consumers. Building mobile digital infrastructure at scale is essential in any transformation journey, laying the foundation for a more connected and technologically advanced society.

India is a global frontrunner not only in digital innovation but specifically in 5G. The government’s recognition of the need for digital infrastructure, combined with effective spectrum allocation and management, has enabled the world’s fastest nationwide 5G deployment in India. 

The country’s communications service providers (CSPs) have rapidly rolled out cutting-edge 5G networks, achieving more than 90 percent 5G coverage to date. Beyond enhanced mobile broadband, fixed wireless access (FWA) is emerging as a primary 5G use case to drive digital inclusion for around 6 million households in India today. We predict that over 100 million households will be connected through FWA by 2030, with the current market growth rate at 30,000 new FWA subscribers per day.

Millions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—the backbone of India's economy—also use connectivity to step into the future. They all have access to world-class mobile infrastructure, which relies on 5G standalone (SA) technology and is deployed on mid-band spectrum.

Let me share some examples of what’s possible for enterprises with 5G. In manufacturing, we recently announced the deployment of Ericsson Private 5G for JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) as the company “cuts the copper” at its Solihull plant in the UK.

With JLR, our 5G network will enhance the production of Range Rover vehicles by supporting critical applications such as vision systems, IoT sensors, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

We see productivity gains firsthand at our 5G connected factory in Texas, US, including a doubling of labor efficiency, thanks to new technologies and applications such as digital twins. In our factory in Tallinn, Estonia, we boosted productivity by up to 50 percent through augmented reality troubleshooting, enhanced ergonomics, and faster information sharing.

5G as a platform for innovation with network APIs

We're just starting to witness the potential of 5G if you think of self-driving vehicles, automated production lines, and everyday enterprise applications. Future use cases will be developed by entrepreneurs with the best tools and networks.

Today, CSPs already deliver the benefits of 5G to consumers and enterprises, and they have the potential to transform the network into a platform for innovation. One of the most important ways to do this is by making advanced 5G network capabilities available to the global developer community through open network application programming interfaces (APIs).

This is why we helped create Aduna: our joint venture with more than a dozen leading global CSPs, including Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Through its single unified portal, Aduna will provide streamlined access to a growing suite of network APIs built on existing industry standards.

The synergy of high-performance and programmable networks combined with network APIs and a vibrant developer community will create a powerful network effect that drives growth and innovation.

This represents a great opportunity for India with its thriving developer and startup ecosystem. It allows for a repositioning of the telecom industry both on a global and national level, putting telecom networks at the center of digitalization.

The past and future of India as a core market for Ericsson

At Ericsson, we’ve seen firsthand that India is not just a key market—it’s one of our core markets. With over 22,000 employees, the country hosts Ericsson’s largest workforce and is a crucial hub for our research in AI, 6G, and network APIs. One of three Ericsson Global AI Accelerators is based in Bengaluru.

We set up our first switch in India in 1903 and we’ve been a key partner in the country’s digital transformation from 2G through to 5G. Our “Made in India” 4G and 5G radios are manufactured with Jabil at our factory in Pune, powering our customers’ networks nationwide.

We’ve partnered with Bharti Airtel and Jio to support their massive 5G rollouts in India, and we recently announced our 5G RAN contract with Vi.

Ericsson 6G research teams in India work on several advanced technologies, such as intent-based zero-touch telecom networks and trustworthy, sustainable, and generative AI capabilities. We collaborate with leading local institutes to advance research in radio, AI, and cloud technologies.

When it comes to building the 5G ecosystem, we work together with the Department of Telecommunications to offer accredited courses for 100 5G use case labs in the country.

India must keep leading in digitalization

Connectivity has already laid a strong foundation for Digital India. Looking ahead, digitalization will further drive the country’s competitive advantage and benefit all sectors of the economy, such as education, healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, and urban planning.

Leadership in the digital stack, including high-performing, programmable networks, will be key to any country’s competitiveness. High-performing networks will allow industries to fully capitalize on mobile connectivity, improve efficiency and productivity as well as innovate and scale other technologies, such as AI.

By investing in connectivity, innovation, and skills development, India is not only poised to embrace the future but also to define it, which requires a commitment to keeping pace with this digital race. 

Simply put, leading in technology is the only way to lead innovation. At Ericsson, we’re proud to support India on its journey toward becoming a USD 7 trillion economy by 2030.

Delve deeper into how Ericsson is transforming India into an innovation powerhouse through digitalization:

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