Bharti Airtel signs $400mn network deal with Nokia

(31 October 2006 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Nokia has bagged a $400 million network expansion and services deal for over three years from Bharti Airtel Ltd, mobile services provider.

As per the three year contract, Nokia will provide managed services and expand Airtel networks to cover all towns and cities in the eight telecom circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra & Goa, Gujarat, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Orissa, Kolkata, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh (including Chattisgarh), according to an official release.

The network monitoring operations will be carried out from Nokia's global network services center in Chennai.

Nokia will also deploy its WAP solution across Airtel's national
network to enhance its mobile packet core network capabilities.

The WAP gateway to be implemented by Nokia shall enable easy usage of data services, thereby increasing the consumption of content on the Airtel network. Nokia will
provide consulting services and integrate the WAP gateway into a multi-vendor environment.

Nokia will also 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.

The contract also has stringent service level agreements and performance metrics for both parties which are designed to provide consistently high quality services to subscribers and continuously enhance the user experience.

Bharti Airtel president Manoj Kohli said, "Our network leadership across India is a critical driver in the Bharti Airtel success story. Our partnership with Nokia reinforces our commitment to this cause and Nokia will provide us the latest technology and expertise to drive growth in the latent market in Eastern India and rapidly expand our coverage in Western parts of India.

"Nokia is proud to collaborate with Bharti on its initiative to take mobile services to millions of unconnected Indians and enhance the mobile data experience of its existing customers," said Nokia India country director Ashish Chowdhary. "Our extensive managed services capability, powered with a comprehensive and high quality product portfolio makes Nokia a catalyst for providing affordable mobile services to rural consumers.