New Delhi, Jan 10: Swedish telecom major Ericsson is bullish about the Indian market, which, it believes, is going to be one of the fastest growing markets in the world. "India is to us one of the biggest potential growth market. With around 26 to 28 million subscribers this year and an expected 50 million by the year-end, this is a 100 plus per cent growth market," Bert Nordberg, president (business unit systems), Ericsson, told reporters here after the inauguration of the company's network management centre in Gurgaon.

"The growth rate is the main interest. We have established a good footprint here and we have networks in all the regions," he said.

Ericsson expected to continue to invest in India "because we believe that this country is going to be one of the highest growth markets for Ericsson in the world in the coming years," he said.

He claimed a market share of 40 per cent in GSM systems.

He however did not disclose Ericsson India's revenue.

He said in the Asia Pacific region, there were a number of competitors to India. "But the speed India has, we have not seen such speed in any other country. I think it will be on par with other countries within the next 12-24 months."
Compared to China, he said, India and China were two good comparable situations. China started little earlier, they are ahead in growth, they have five million subscriber per month, India has two million. But they come closer all the time.

Bureau Report