Ericsson India hopes to fill Telecom space that might not be open to Huawei, ZTE

New Delhi: Amid heightened anti-China sentiments in India, Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has said it hopes to win contracts in the Indian telecom market on the strength of its technology leadership, and added that as a practice, the company does not base business plans on matters not under its control.

Ericsson India head Nitin Bansal said that the company remains “very confident” of its technology prowess. Bansal was responding to a question on whether the anti-China sentiments in the country would provide a competitive edge to non-Chinese gear vendors in Indian telecom market, where data and voice consumption patterns are charting new highs.

“We do not base our business plans on things which we cannot control... we believe in technology leadership. And, if you see globally, we have been winning on our technology leadership,” Bansal told PTI.

Earlier this month, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) cancelled a multi-crore tender for 4G telecom network upgrade after the government asked the firm not to use any Chinese equipment. BSNL’s notice for cancellation of the 4G tender came against the backdrop of a growing clamour against Chinese goods and services after the recent violent clash at the Ladakh border with China.

Other impact areas that are being keenly watched in the telecom space are 5G trials and the mega 5G networks that will be created in the future.

Global giants Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung, as well as Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE are the large players in the Indian market where rapid digitisation and massive data needs are driving network scale-up by telecom operators.

“Whatever the decision the government takes (on participation of Chinese players in contracts)...we believe we will win on our technology leadership, we are very confident,” Bansal said.