Bharti awards $400 million network expansion contract to Nokia
By Our Corporate Bureau | 31 Oct 2006
Leading Indian telecom services provider Bharti Airtel has awarded a three year contract estimated at $400 million to Nokia to expand its networks in eight Airtel circles and deploy WAP solutions across its pan-India networks.
Nokia will provide managed services and expand Airtel's GSM / GPRS / EDGE networks in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Bihar (with Jharkhand), Orissa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (with Chattisgarh).
The network monitoring operations will be carried out from Nokia's global network services centre in Chennai. Nokia will also deploy its WAP solution across Airtel's national network to enhance its mobile packet core network capabilities.
Nokia will deploy the latest radio and core network equipment including softswitch, flexi-base stations and mini-Ultrasite base stations and provide services based on Bharti's capacity requirements, delivering a cost-efficient rollout of on-demand capacity.
"Our network leadership across India is a critical driver in the Bharti Airtel success story," Manoj Kohli, president of Bharti Airtel, was quoted in a communiqué. "Our partnership with Nokia reinforces our commitment to this cause and Nokia will provide us the latest technology and expertise to drive growth in Eastern India and rapidly expand our coverage in western India."