Ericsson sets sights on vibrant Asia-Pacific telecom markets

Sweden's wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson is betting on the Asia-Pacific market - especially India and China to keep its lead in the global telecommunications market, the company said.

President and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg said confidence has returned to the global telecom industry and increasing demand in Asia's fast growing econ-omies will drive future growth.

"Confidence has returned and we are back into growth and revenue growth discussions," Svanberg told a gathering of journalists and analysts in New Delhi.

The telecom industry had suffered huge financial losses after the Internet bubble burst in 2000. After more than two years in the red, Ericsson the world's largest supplier of equipment for wireless phone networks swung back into black in the last quarter of 2003.

Svanberg said he sees great opportunity in India, a country of 1.03 billion people, of whom only 41 million use mobile phones. But the subscriber base is rapidly expanding and will likely touch 200 million by 2009.

"India is one of the hottest markets," said Mats Granryd, president of CDMA systems at Ericsson. "And the market in China is very exciting."

Ericsson, which provides telecom services in seven Chinese provinces through state-owned China Unicom, said it expects mobile phone usage in China to grow six times over the next five years.

In India, most leading operators use Ericsson equipment and systems.

In February, the company signed a $400 million (euro 328 million) agreement with Bharti Televenture Ltd, to manage and maintain its network of more than four million customers.

The company plans to set up a plant in Jaipur city in northwestern India to make radio-base disc antennas, which will be used in multimedia services through CDMA-based phones, Svanberg said.

The potential for CDMA phones is huge in India, especially in rural areas, Svanberg said.

"In rural areas the name of game is coverage. Fast and cost efficient rollout of wireless connectivity combine with micro-prepaid will provide for a fast pick up of subscribers," he said.