Bharti Airtel and Ericsson have continued their strategic partnership with a USD 1.3 billion network expansion contract that will see the deployment of a converged network to expand coverage in rural India.
The extended agreement enables Bharti’s users to have access to enhanced voice quality and faster data access.
Sanjay Kappor, CEO Bharti Airtel for India and South Asia, explained that the extended partnership with Ericsson means reductions in operating expenditures and the enhancement of network quality for Bharti.
According to Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, “Airtel is poised to spearhead the next telecom revolution in India and take the 2G experience to greater heights”.
Ericsson will expand and upgrade Airtel’s network in 15 of India’s 22 telecom circles and supply its portfolio of energy efficient 2G/2.5G radio base stations, circuit and packet core, microwave transmission and Intelligent Network. Also, the company will ensure that Bharti Airtel’s core and transport network is 3G-ready.
Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is among Asia’s leading integrated telecom services providers with operations in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In South Asia, the company had an aggregate of over 134 million customers as of the end February 2010, including 124.6 million mobile customers in India. The company provides Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV solutions.
Ericsson is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and services to telecom operators, offering mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry.
Bharti Airtel, this week, completed the acquisition of Zain Africa’s assets.
