Ericsson invests $24M to localize antenna production in India by 2025, diversifying from China amid geopolitical tensions, while Samsung prioritizes DDR5 R&D in Vietnam exit move.
Swedish telecom giant partners with VVDN to establish India’s first fully localized antenna production line, aiming to capitalize on Jio/Airtel’s 5G push and bypass China-dependent logistics.
Strategic Localization in Chennai
Ericsson revealed plans on 22 July 2024 to achieve 100% localized passive antenna production at its Chennai facility by June 2025 through a $24M partnership with VVDN Technologies. The move adds India to Ericsson’s manufacturing network spanning Mexico, Romania, and China.
Geopolitical Supply Chain Calculus
Nunzio Mirtillo, Ericsson’s Head of Market Area South East Asia, told Telecom Economic Times: ‘Our India operations will reduce delivery times to local telcos by 40% while serving export markets. This hedges against both US-China trade barriers and Red Sea shipping disruptions.’
Contrasting Tech Strategies
The announcement contrasts sharply with Samsung’s 19 July 2024 decision to phase out DDR4 production in Vietnam. While Ericsson expands physical manufacturing nodes, Samsung’s $3B DDR5 R&D push in South Korea exemplifies East Asia’s focus on component innovation over geographic diversification.
Domestic Demand Meets Export Ambitions
With Reliance Jio adding 12M 5G users last quarter (Analysys Mason data), Ericsson’s Indian facility will initially produce 80,000 antennas monthly. 30% output is earmarked for export to Southeast Asia and Africa by 2025, aligning with India’s $15B telecom export target.
Historical Context: Manufacturing Shifts
This supply chain bifurcation continues trends seen during the 2018 US-China trade war, when Foxconn expanded Vietnamese iPhone production. However, Ericsson’s India push uniquely combines domestic market capture (Airtel/Jio 5G rollout) with export capacity building – a dual strategy Nokia failed to execute, losing 8% market share since 2022.
Technological Precedents
India’s telecom manufacturing surge echoes its 2014-2019 4G infrastructure boom, when local production jumped 140%. The current Production-Linked Incentive scheme’s antenna component inclusion mirrors 2021 semiconductor subsidies that attracted $10B in chip design investments.
