Ericsson, a Swedish vendor, foresees a surge in impactful 5G use cases within India over the next 12 to 24 months. As local carriers in the country strive to capitalize on their 5G networks, Ericsson is actively exploring business opportunities in India's enterprise market. The Nordic vendor is playing a pivotal role in assisting telecom operators in monetizing their 5G investments by facilitating the creation of an ecosystem conducive to developers. This ecosystem enables developers to leverage the network's application programming interface (API) features, fostering the development of novel use cases and applications.

The imminent emergence of significant use cases in India's 5G landscape is anticipated to be primarily driven by the network slicing capability inherent in 5G technology. This capability enables telecom operators to efficiently segment their network resources to cater to diverse user requirements, thereby facilitating the monetization of their investments in the 5G domain.

Moreover, Ericsson's executive emphasized the pivotal role of future investments by local carrier Vodafone Idea in deploying 5G infrastructure. Such investments are poised to catalyze the development of the telecom ecosystem in India, aligning with the nation's aspirations for technological advancement and digital transformation.

In parallel, the Indian government has confirmed the commencement of the upcoming spectrum auction on May 20. The auction will encompass 5G airwaves across various bands, including 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.3 GHz, and 26 GHz. However, industry sources suggest that the auction may witness limited participation, with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea expected to focus primarily on renewing their existing frequencies.

Bharti Airtel's renewal focus for this year centers on the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands in regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (East), West Bengal, and Assam. Similarly, Vodafone Idea is gearing up for spectrum renewals in West Bengal (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and Uttar Pradesh (West).

The impending spectrum auction and the renewal of existing frequencies underscore the criticality of spectrum management for telecom operators in India. Securing the necessary spectrum resources is pivotal for operators to enhance network capacity, coverage, and performance, thereby enabling the seamless rollout of advanced services, including 5G.

Ericsson's proactive involvement in fostering the development of 5G use cases, coupled with Vodafone Idea's forthcoming investments in infrastructure, heralds an exciting phase of innovation and growth in India's telecom sector. As the nation gears up for the deployment of 5G technology, collaboration between industry stakeholders and regulatory support will be instrumental in realizing India's vision of a digitally empowered society.