India to power global fixed wireless growth: Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden

Telecom gearmaker's CTO says 6G to unlock smart glasses revolution

India’s growth in fixed wireless access (FWA) homes — based on 5G — will be the workhorse of fixed networks globally over the next 10-12 years, said Erik Ekudden, global chief technology officer (CTO) of telecom gearmaker Ericsson. 

He said the number of FWA homes was expected to grow at a global average of over 13 per cent per annum, or even higher. 

“Currently, 11 per cent of households worldwide use mobile technology for fixed wireless access. The figure is projected to reach 18 per cent in the next four to five years, rising from 150 million to 300 million households. I am confident that India will be able to maintain the global average growth of 13 per cent, if not higher. It is at 8.7 million now, and we are looking at 100 million by 2030,” said Ekudden. 

He pointed out that the advantage of FWA lies in its ability to leverage existing mobile network infrastructure. Typically, services are offered on mid-band spectrum, and by using standalone networks with network slicing, users can consume 15-20 times more data compared to mobile subscriptions. 

Over time, Ekudden said, millimetre-wave spectrum for FWA would be introduced, as seen globally, to meet growing capacity needs. 

He argued that FWA complements rather than competes with fibre. “FWA does not compete with fibre; it offers an attractive alternative. In the US, 85-90 per cent of new fixed subscriptions are mobile-based. It will be a key solution for connecting fixed locations over the next 5-10 years in any country -- fiberized or not,” he said.

 

Despite the euphoria surrounding the global and Indian launch of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Ericsson believes that the full potential of such devices will only be realised with the advent of 6G, not 5G.

 

Ekudden said the smart glasses revolution would begin with 5G Advanced, but even a 20-40 per cent adoption rate would place tremendous pressure on the network, especially on the uplink, requiring the handling of up to 10 times more uplink traffic than today. “Current networks are not geared up for it, as they are optimised for downlinking heavy traffic. One would need to re-engineer the network. To do that, we need more energy-efficient AI transmission at the edge cloud and they will be powered by 6G,” he argued. 

 

On Ericsson’s India manufacturing strategy, Ekudden said: “We manufacture 5G equipment in India for India through our local production units, which improves supply chain control and market responsiveness. We make radios in Pune and antennas in Gurugram, not just for India but for global markets. But countries need to balance local manufacturing for supply chain resilience with global supply chain integration. India benefits from both.”

 

On the advent of 6G, expected around 2030, Ekudden said development was still in the early stages, and research and standardisation just began. 6G, he said, would enhance AI-enabled wearables, energy-optimised protocols leading to self-powered sensors, and enterprise applications.

 

“It will be a gradual evolution. Consumers might notice some changes, but many benefits will be seen in non-consumer areas — such as enterprise solutions, AI-assisted surgeries, healthcare, and rural deployments,” he said.