After Huawei scored a three year managed services contract worth $220mn for telecom operator Vodafone, it is now Nokia’s turn to boast of a $230 million contract to update Airtel’s 4G network across India. With this deal Nokia has become the largest supplier of 4G services for Bharti Airtel.
The Finnish communications company will be setting up 4G infrastructure for Bharti Airtel in nine circles across India including – Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rest of Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala and UP East. “This network expansion will provide the capacity, coverage and speed the company needs to meet the next wave of data demand in India,” Sanjay Malik, India Head for Nokia, said in a statement. Responding to the same, Bharti Airtel stated, “We are pleased to continue to leverage Nokia’s leading radio access technology and services expertise to expand 4G capacity and coverage and further increase the quality of service for subscribers.”
The deal value for this Nokia-Airtel partnership has not been disclosed officially, but sources told PTI that it is estimated to be around $230mn. Along with increasing Airtel’s 4G presence, Nokia will also be expanding the telecom operator’s 3G network in “eight of the territories as part of this rollout and modernization of legacy 2G BTS.”