India, Sweden Deepen 5G–6G and Green Telecom Partnership

Deputy Prime Minister Busch emphasised that climate action must remain inclusive and innovation-led, integrating sustainability with enterprise development.

India and Sweden have agreed to intensify cooperation in next-generation telecommunications and digital transformation, following high-level talks between Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia and Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ms. Ebba Busch in New Delhi.

The bilateral meeting, held on 18 February 2026 at Sanchar Bhawan, reviewed ongoing collaboration and explored new avenues under the India–Sweden strategic partnership, with a strong focus on sustainability, inclusive enterprise development and secure digital infrastructure.

Digital Cooperation as a Strategic Pillar

Both sides reaffirmed that telecom and digital cooperation form a central pillar of the bilateral relationship, anchored in shared priorities of:

• Next-generation connectivity

• Trusted and secure digital infrastructure

• Innovation-driven growth

• Clean energy transitions

• Inclusive and economically viable digital transformation

They acknowledged the India–Sweden Joint Working Group (JWG) on Digital Technologies and Economy as the principal institutional platform for structured engagement and agreed to schedule the third JWG meeting in Stockholm at the earliest.

Expanding 5G and 5G-Advanced Use Cases

Discussions centred on expanding 5G and 5G-Advanced applications in:

• Healthcare

• Agriculture

• Smart cities

• Rural connectivity

Deputy Prime Minister Busch emphasised that climate action must remain inclusive and innovation-led, integrating sustainability with enterprise development.

The Swedish side appreciated India’s rapid telecom expansion and explored how Swedish industry — including Ericsson — could contribute to enhancing connectivity and accessibility across India and other Global South markets.

Both sides recognised that Sweden’s strong research and industrial ecosystem, combined with India’s scale and affordability-driven innovation model, could yield globally scalable digital solutions.

India Showcases Scale and Infrastructure Investments

Minister Scindia outlined India’s telecom achievements:

• 1.23 billion telecom subscribers

• Nearly 1 billion internet users

• 4G coverage reaching 98.5% of the population

• Universal 4G coverage targeted across all villages by June 2026

• World’s fastest 5G rollout completed in 21 months, with investments of approximately USD 5.5 billion

• Public capital expenditure of USD 16.9 billion to connect every Gram Panchayat

He highlighted the role of state-owned operator BSNL, which has developed an indigenous 4G stack and serves over 93 million subscribers.

Sustainability efforts, including increased renewable energy usage in telecom towers and clean energy transition targets by 2030, were also emphasised.

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure — Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker — was presented as an inclusive digital governance model, with digital connectivity described as the “invisible highway” driving economic growth.

6G, Spectrum and Global Standards

Both sides discussed early collaboration in:

• 6G research and standardisation

• Spectrum harmonisation

• Coordinated participation at ITU and 3GPP

India highlighted the formation of the Bharat 6G Alliance, aiming to contribute at least 10% of global 6G patents, and proposed joint research initiatives including:

• 1 THz test beds

• Optical fibre test beds

Interoperable, open and secure network architectures were identified as critical to next-generation evolution.

Open RAN, Quantum and Cybersecurity

Cooperation in Open RAN, network modernisation and trusted supply chains was identified as a shared priority.

Five broad pillars of cooperation were outlined:

1. 5G use cases

2. 6G collaboration and advanced test beds

3. Open RAN ecosystems

4. Quantum technologies

5. Industry–academia partnerships

Emerging areas such as quantum communication, post-quantum cryptography and secure network architecture were also discussed, alongside structured engagement on cybersecurity, telecom fraud mitigation and risk-based regulatory frameworks.

Multilateral Support at ITU

India sought Sweden’s support for:

• The candidature of Ms. M. Revathi for Director, Radiocommunication Bureau at the ITU

• India’s re-election to the ITU Council (2027–2030)

• India’s proposal to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2030

India highlighted its successful hosting of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly and reiterated its commitment to constructive multilateral engagement.

Shared Commitment to Trusted Digital Futures

The meeting concluded with both countries reaffirming their commitment to building trusted networks, resilient supply chains and inclusive digital ecosystems through sustained high-level dialogue and structured implementation under the Joint Working Group framework.

With India offering scale and rapid deployment, and Sweden bringing deep industrial and sustainability expertise, the partnership is positioned to co-shape secure and climate-aligned digital infrastructure for the future.