Bharti Airtel signs multi-year deal with Nokia to Boost Network Connectivity

Bharti Airtel has now signed a strategic multi-year deal with Nokia to boost its 4G capacity, lay the foundation of 5G network, and enhance the customer experience.

Both the companies, as of now have not disclosed the value of the transaction.

Nokia will deploy its Single Radio Access Network (SRAN), Radio Solution across the nine telecom circles in India by the end of 2022, to prepare for the 5G network connectivity.

The SRAN solution will help the Airtel to manage the 2G, 3G, 4G networks connectivity from a single platform, which includes increasing cost efficiencies and network complexity.

Executive Opinion

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO at Bharti Airtel, said, "Airtel has consistently topped network performance charts in studies conducted by multiple global experts. We are committed to continuously invest in emerging network technologies to provide a best-in-class experience to our customers. This initiative with Nokia is a major step in this direction. We have been working with Nokia for more than a decade now and are delighted to use Nokia's SRAN products in further improving the capacity and coverage of our network as we prepare for the 5G era."

Rajeev Suri, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Nokia, said, "This is an important agreement for the future of connectivity in one of the world's largest telecoms markets and solidifies our position in India. We have worked closely with Bharti Airtel for many years and are delighted to extend this long-standing partnership further. This project will enhance their current networks and deliver best-in-class connectivity to Airtel customers but also lay the foundations for 5G services in the future."

Airtel and Nokia Developments

In addition, Airtel will deploy the Nokia Radio Access Network equipment, which includes its NetAct OSS solution, AirScale BaseBand, AirScale Radio Access to monitor and manage its network, notes the announcement.

In the month of March this year, Nokia announced its collaboration with Intel on 5G Radio and Cloud innovations.

Apart from that, Nokia also announced End-To-End 4G And 5G Slicing Network.