Press Release
Nokia and Bharti Airtel sign USD 400 million network expansion, managed services contract
Espoo, Finland – Bharti Airtel Limited has awarded Nokia an estimated USD 400 million contract to expand its managed GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks in eight Airtel circles and deploy a pan-Indian WAP solution across its networks.
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). The network monitoring operations will be carried out from Nokia’s state-of-the-art Global Network Services Center in Chennai.
Nokia will also deploy its WAP solution across Airtel’s national network to enhance the operator’s mobile packet core network capabilities. The WAP gateway will 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 deploy the latest radio and core network equipment including Nokia MSC Server System (MSS) mobile softswitch, Nokia Flexi WCDMA and 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.
Mr Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel 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 Mr. Ashish Chowdhary, Country Director, Networks, Nokia India. “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.”
In the past two years, Nokia has signed two contracts collectively worth USD 400 million with Bharti for the supply of equipment and managed services.
With its proven track record in managing networks on behalf of operators around the world, Nokia is able to support operators to enhance their service offerings and reduce costs. Nokia is a major player in the Managed Services business with close to 60 managed services contracts globally. Nokia provides managed services in 27 telecom circles in India.
Nokia’s operations in India include networks and terminals sales divisions, three Research and Development facilities, Global Networks Solutions Center and a manufacturing facility in Chennai that produces both terminals and GSM infrastructure equipment.