Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm on India’s AI Moment, 5G Standalone & Why 6G Can’t Wait
📅 Mar 02, 2026moneycontrol8 MIN364 VIEWS27 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
In this exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol’s Danish Khan, Börje Ekholm, CEO of Ericsson, explains how AI is moving beyond data centers into telecom networks. He says the next phase is about monetizing and strengthening networks to support “physical AI,” with 5G Standalone playing a critical role. Much of what is expected from 6G, he notes, can already be achieved today — making immediate commercial deployment essential before the next generation arrives.
Ekholm calls India a key strategic and front-runner market for Ericsson, citing its scale, fast technology adoption, and strong R&D ba...
Questions asked in this interview
12
0:10I want to start this interview by seeking your views on what are the themes at MWC for Ericsson this year?
0:36I'm assuming that there are new deals in the offing for Ericsson from coming from telcos?
1:28How is Ericsson leveraging India for AI and 6G?
2:36And how do you plan to use India's R&D base for AI developments?
2:56Because our plan is like 10% of IP in the 6G space. How do you see that?
4:02Is it going to impact the industry and the investments?
5:01Do you think that a continent needs to build their own technology?
I am Danish Khan from Moneycontrol and we are at MWC and we have Ericsson's global CEO Borje. Borje, welcome to the show. Thank you. Nice to see you. Thank you very much.
I want to start this interview by seeking your views on what are the themes at MWC for Ericsson this year?
I would say the team is really focused around AI and the way AI will start to impact the telecom networks. As I see it, the first phase of AI rollout was really building out the data centers and getting the chips right, etc. Now we're moving into telecom. Right.
And then it becomes a question of how do you monetize the network, how do we build it out, and that's what you see in the show. And since obviously I cover Indian market extensively, how do you see the Indian market right now? Because last time when we spoke, the relief came for Vodafone Idea. Now there is a stability in the market and also do you see more business opportunities for Ericsson? I'm assuming that there are new deals in the offing for Ericsson from coming from telcos?
You know, India is a very important market for us. It's a key strategic market. And the reason here is of course the scale of India is big. But what's more, even more interesting today, how fast it's actually leading on technology as well. So we need to be very close to our customers in India to be on the forefront. And that's what we're trying to do.
We recently had a summit in India. A lot of global companies came for the event. Even Ericsson's global CTO also visited. There's a lot of push on AI and 6G is also coming. How do you see India as the hub for AI development? How is Ericsson leveraging India for AI and 6G?
We think it's a really exciting development for India. I mean India is very strong in the capabilities underlying AI and we're starting to see that happening. On 6G, we're investing heavily in 6G. It's going to come. But I would also take a step back that a lot of the performance you can get of 6G, you actually get already today in 5G standalone. That's why rolling out 5G standalone is so important. Because once you do that, it becomes the backbone how you actually create physical AI. And that's going to happen in the next 2-3 years, i.e. before we get 6G. So we can't wait for 6G. I know the excitement about 6G, and we're also excited, and we invest for that.
Right. Right. But we need to actually see the commercial applications already happening now. Right. And how do you plan to use India's R&D base for AI developments?
As you know, India is actually our largest country from a head count point of view, and we continue to invest there and growing our presence, which is for us critical.
Right. Right. And India is also making a great push when it comes to 6G. We have government body also, and they want to engage with a lot of stakeholders. How do you see the move so far? Do you think that India will have a larger say when it comes to standardization of 6G? Because our plan is like 10% of IP in the 6G space. How do you see that?
I think it's fair to say there are many countries who want to participate in 6G. What we try to do is to make sure the ecosystem comes together. So it's all about getting the full ecosystem, i.e. the infrastructure, the devices, the applications to exist together. And we've done that for the first five generations. So we see that to be our key role going forward. What roles countries are going to play in that becomes the next discussion, and I think it depends on engagement. Where do we have capabilities? Where are those situated, etc. So you know, I hope everyone can drive 6G as a standard.
Right. But the key is again back to I like a strong 6G network, but I would like to see a migration path from 5G into 6G. Right. That's actually the key. Right. Right. And since we last spoke, during the last interaction, how do you see the ongoing global geopolitical situations and the tariff situation? Is it going to impact the industry and the investments?
So far, I would say the geopolitical uncertainty is something we just need to act according to. So we try to build a supply chain that's actually flexible enough to handle different outcomes. And so far, it you know, we've managed. We continue to focus on managing that situation. I often say, from a geopolitical point of view, we're takers. We can't shape that. It's going to be shaped by others. So we just need to be flexible on our side, and that's what we're doing.
Right. Right. And in the past, there were calls for Europe to become independent from the US technology when it comes to AI, when it comes to chipsets. How do you see that? Do you think that a continent needs to build their own technology?
13 more exchanges in this transcript
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Ekholm, B. (2026, March 2). Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm on India’s AI Moment, 5G Standalone & Why 6G Can’t Wait [Interview transcript]. moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052309/
MLA
Börje Ekholm. "Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm on India’s AI Moment, 5G Standalone & Why 6G Can’t Wait." moneycontrol, 2 Mar. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052309/.
BibTeX
@misc{ekholm2026_1052309,
author = {Börje Ekholm},
title = {Ericsson CEO Börje Ekholm on India’s AI Moment, 5G Standalone \& Why 6G Can’t Wait},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, moneycontrol. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {mar},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1052309/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
