Ericsson, Bharti Airtel, and Volvo Group announce a collaboration to drive India’s manufacturing sector towards Industry 4.0 and 5.0. The partnership will explore the potential of Extended Reality (XR), Digital Twin technologies, and AI in the manufacturing sector. Using the power of 5G and 5G Advanced, the partnership aims to transform industrial operations, enhance workforce training, and drive real-time process optimization.

The research engagement will be conducted at the Volvo Group Factory and Volvo Group’s R&D Centre in Bangalore. The research will explore futuristic industrial metaverse applications, including human and machine interaction and collaboration. It will look into use cases made using a blend of the physical and digital worlds.

A Boost for Airtel’s 5G

This initiative aims to deploy and explore Airtel’s 5G advanced network as the foundation for industrial XR (Extended Reality) applications. With its ultra-low latency and high-speed capabilities, 5G has the potential to enable differentiated connectivity for real-time simulations, design prototyping, and immersive training across multiple factory and industrial sites.

Register to attend the 32nd edition of our ICT expo "Convergence India Expo" from March 19th to 21st at: Convergence India 2025: Driving Innovation in Telecom & ICT

This will test “what if” scenarios with new immersive concepts to optimize production workflows to actual operations with minimal or zero disruptions. 

Convergence of Manufacturing and Telecom 

Beyond improving operational efficiencies, this collaboration will contribute to the advancement of Industry 4.0 and beyond, while also creating opportunities for telcos to unlock new revenue streams and business models. Insights from this research will enhance network readiness for industrial XR, enabling immersive communication solutions in smart factories.

To read more on Telecom, visit our category page! 

Accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 

Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO—Airtel Business, said, “We are thrilled to leverage the capabilities of our advanced 5G network for innovative industrial applications in partnership with Ericsson and Volvo Group. Through this collaboration, our high-speed, low-latency 5G network will redefine and transform the manufacturing sector by enabling real-time XR applications for enhanced productivity and efficiencies, unlocking new revenue streams, and accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 applications.”

As industries embrace digital transformation, this initiative will enhance network capabilities to meet the rising demand for XR-driven innovations, enabling businesses to boost productivity and scale operations effortlessly.