Nov 05, 2026 | 5 min.
Senior Researcher, Radio access network (RAN) standardization
Senior research manager, Networks
Senior Researcher, Radio access network (RAN) standardization
Senior Researcher, Radio access network (RAN) standardization
Contributor (+2)
Senior research manager, Networks
Senior Researcher, Radio access network (RAN) standardization
Few countries put mobile networks to the test the way India does. From dense megacities to vast rural regions – and everything in between – networks must deliver capacity, coverage, resilience and new services at prices that work for more than a billion people.
India has risen to that challenge with the world’s fastest nationwide 5G deployment. Ericsson’s June 2026 Mobility Report forecasts more than 1.1 billion 5G subscriptions in India by the end of 2031, or 81 percent of all mobile subscriptions. That scale, in combination with its intent to lead 6G, makes India much more than a large market – it plays an important role in establishing momentum and volumes for devices and chipsets in important 6G spectrum bands like the upper 6 GHz bands.
India is also helping to write the rules. Since the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) was founded in 2014, India’s contribution to global standards development in bodies such as 3GPP and the ITU has grown steadily. Much of it reflects the practical needs of emerging markets. For example, low-mobility large-cell features that improve rural coverage are now part of global standards. Indian market-specific use cases like this one often reveal gaps that other markets miss.
As the industry moves into the 6G era, this kind of collaboration matters even more. India combines leading universities, a strong telecom sector, a huge pool of engineering talent and ambitious national initiatives on future networks. The Bharat 6G Alliance brings these together as a focal point for 6G research and development, as illustrated in Figure 1. The Bharat 6G Alliance is a collaboration of industry, academia, research institutions, and standards bodies that coordinates 6G research, innovation, standardization, and global partnerships to help realize India's Bharat 6G Vision and establish India as a leader in 6G technology.
Diagram titled “From national vision to global telecom impact.” At the center is “BHARAT 6G — National vision & innovation platform,” connected to five groups: “Academia & research (Universities – IITs, IISc, ...),” “Government & policy (Dept. of Telecom, ...),” “Standards & regulation (TSDI, TRAI, global SDO links, ...),” “Industry R&D (Telecom vendors, C-DOT, startups, ...),” and “CSPs & deployment (Airtel, BSNL, Jio, Vi, ...).” A bottom bar reads “6G technology,” “Standards & IP,” “Testbeds & trials,” and “Global impact.”
Figure 1: The Bharat 6G Alliance connects policy, research, standards, industry and deployment.
Ericsson Research expands in India with RAN research
Ericsson has been a partner in India’s telecom journey for more than 120 years. Today, more than 20,000 Ericsson employees in the country work in roles spread across research, software and hardware development, product management, sales, services and manufacturing, serving both India and global markets.
Prior to the expansion, Ericsson Research in India focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies. Together with leading Indian universities, our researchers have worked on topics such as trustworthy communication, causal AI, resource optimization for edge computing, formal verification and network control algorithms, etc.
Now we’re starting a new chapter by expanding our research in India into radio access network (RAN) concepts and standardization. Ericsson has shaped global standards for every generation of cellular technology, and we’re proud to bring that expertise to India and grow these skills here.
Expanding our RAN research in India is about more than building local competence. It also gives us the chance to work more closely with Indian researchers and industry on the technologies that will shape 6G and beyond.
We also want knowledge to flow both ways. Challenges identified in India will feed directly into Ericsson’s global research and standardization work, and our global outlook will influence the research agenda in India.
Our work in India rests on three pillars: advanced communications research, academic and ecosystem collaboration, and engagement with communications service providers (CSPs), as shown in Figure 2.
Diagram titled “Ericsson Research India Vision.” At the top is a box with the title. Dashed lines lead down to three boxes arranged from left to right: 1, “Advanced communications research”; 2, “Academic & ecosystem collaboration”; and 3, “CSP engagement.” Below the three boxes is a long box spanning the width of the diagram, labeled “To shape future wireless systems with local relevance and global impact.”
Figure 2: The three pillars of Ericsson Research in India.
Research themes shaped by India’s connectivity needs
India’s megacities, rural and remote regions, affordability constraints and digital inclusion goals raise research challenges with real social and economic impact. Solutions that work at India’s scale and diversity are likely to work elsewhere too. Three research themes stand out:
1) AI-native networks and programmable connectivity As networks evolve toward 6G, AI compute will become an integral part of the network. Networks will expose capabilities that applications can access through standardized interfaces, allowing CSPs to offer programmable services to developers, enterprises and the public sector. Looking ahead, beyond 6G, the networks are expected to become more semantic-aware: to make information transfer more efficient, they will take account of what an application is trying to achieve and prioritize the information that matters most. Our research explores the architecture, protocols and resource-allocation methods this requires, while addressing security, trust, explainability, privacy, interoperability and operational complexity.
2) Future radio networks and coverageCities need more capacity, while rural, remote and coastal areas need reliable coverage at an affordable cost. We’re exploring how terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) can work together as one connectivity fabric, extending coverage and improving resilience in places where conventional macro networks may not be economical. Key topics include spectrum use, mobility management, uplink performance, energy efficiency and cost-effective deployment.
3) Future services and sustainable networksImmersive collaboration, extended reality, digital twins, smart mobility, pervasive sensing and physical AI (enabling robots to act autonomously in real-world environments) will all shape what future networks need to deliver. For example, offloading AI inference to the nearest network edge reduces onboard processing in robots and devices, which saves energy and extends battery life. Sustainability is a core design principle throughout, both in how networks are built and run and in how connectivity can support manufacturing, agriculture and urban infrastructure.
The aim is to develop wireless networks that are more intelligent, adaptable, resilient and sustainable. Figure 3 shows an example of how these research topics may fit into the timelines for 6G, 6G-Advanced and beyond.
The graphic presents a timeline progressing from 6G to 6G-Advanced and then Beyond 6G, with an arrow pointing to the right. • 6G – Foundation: AI-native networks; Seamless NTN mobility; … • 6G-Advanced – Evolution: Advanced service exposure; AI compute integration; … • Beyond 6G – Vision: Physical AI; Semantic-aware communication; … The three stages are arranged sequentially from left to right, showing the progression from the 6G foundation through the evolution of 6G-Advanced to the vision for Beyond 6G.
Figure 3: Research topics mapped onto the timelines for 6G, 6G-Advanced and beyond.
Working with Indian universities, the Bharat 6G Alliance and the broader ecosystem
The best academic collaborations start with a shared understanding of the problem rather than a predefined solution. That’s why we focus on bilateral collaborations with clear scientific goals and ongoing technical exchange, so that both academia and industry benefit.
In India, we’ll build on our existing relationships with leading institutions, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and stay open to the wider national academic network. We’ll share knowledge through workshops, seminars, internships, researcher exchanges and joint publications. This creates opportunities for students and early-career researchers and connects their work to Ericsson’s global research network.
Beyond academia, Ericsson Research takes part in and contributes to the , India’s government-backed 6G forum, consisting of more than 90 members from the Indian ICT ecosystem. As an example, Ericsson just sponsored and helped curate the International Bharat 6G Symposium held during the 10 India Mobile Congress 2026 with speakers from around the world. Here we also contributed to six out of the nine released white papers on 6G topics at the event. We’re particularly interested in working together on applications and use cases, AI-native networks, sustainability, experimentation and testbeds. As a trusted partner, we aim to bring insights from global research and standardization to the alliance, while learning from India’s market needs and social priorities.
India has a huge young talent pool that could be a substantial asset for the 3GPP ecosystem going forward. Ericsson is contributing to India’s telecom ecosystem and skills base through initiatives such as the Ericsson Innovation Challenge, which convenes startups, academia, researchers and technology innovators to apply 5G to public-benefit use cases. This year6 winnerswere appointed from over 800 applicants.
Partnering with Indian CSPs on future networks
All of India’s major CSPs, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, run on Ericsson’s network infrastructure. That gives our research a direct link to the realities of running networks in India: serving a huge and diverse customer base, delivering high-quality connectivity at scale and reaching remote areas with limited or no coverage at an affordable cost.
Engaging with CSPs early helps us ask better research questions and understand their needs as they emerge. We’ll explore future use cases, network architectures and capabilities that could benefit consumers, enterprises and society. Joint experiments across networks, applications, devices and partners will help test the most promising ideas. This work connects the needs of Indian network operators with research that can benefit networks around the world.
Collaborating on 6G and beyond, for India and the world
Expanding Ericsson Research in India into RAN research is a natural next step. We aim to significantly grow our research collaborations and deepen our work with academia, standards bodies, ecosystem partners and CSPs across the country.
India’s scale, engineering talent and fast-moving digital ecosystem make it an increasingly influential voice in global telecommunications. As the industry moves toward 6G, the solutions India needs will matter far beyond its borders. Our research in India will help us address local connectivity challenges while contributing to wireless technologies used around the world. Let’s collaborate to shape India’s digital future!
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