Ericsson has announced that it is expanding production capacity and operations in Pune with its partner Jabil to meet the needs of 5G network deployments in India.

Ericsson, the first telecom vendor to establish manufacturing in India in 1994, collaborates with Jabil to produce equipment such as 4G and 5G radios, RAN Compute, and microwave products.

“As 5G is introduced in India, we are ramping up production of our 5G telecom equipment in Pune in a phased manner to support the network deployments of Indian telecom service providers,” says Nunzio Mirtillo, Ericsson’s Head of Market Area Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India.

“Indian production is part of our global production footprint, which spans continents. This footprint has enabled us to secure a global, flexible, and resilient supply chain that allows us to respond quickly to market and customer needs, benefiting India as well,” Nunzio Mirtillo added.

The production ramp-up will expand operations with high-technology production and create jobs for approximately 2,000 people in Pune, India.

Ericsson India is also establishing a technology centre to increase flexibility and speed in bringing products to market.

This will concentrate on new product introduction and production engineering to ensure high-quality standards, as well as testing/integration and supply preparations on early-phase products, as well as operational support to ensure efficient 5G development and deployment in India.

The ultra-lightweight, Massive MIMO antenna integrated radios AIR 3219 and AIR 3268 from Ericsson will be manufactured there initially to support 5G deployments. In addition, Ericsson will collaborate with local ecosystem partners to support 5G production in India.

Commercial 5G network launches are underway in the country, with deployments beginning following the July spectrum auctions. Bharti Airtel (Airtel) and Jio, two of India’s leading communications solution providers, have chosen Ericsson as their partner in the country’s 5G network deployment.

“With our experience deploying 5G in over 50 countries, we look forward to the opportunity to assist our partners in smoothly transitioning to 5G,” Nunzio Mirtillo says.

“5G is a platform for innovation that will transform India by digitalizing industries and providing new and immersive experiences to consumers. “5G can help India achieve its digital inclusion goals and realise its ‘Digital India’ vision,” Nunzio Mirtillo added.