Bharti Enters Into Agreement With Nokia To Expand 4G Presence Across Six Circles

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has entered into an agreement with Nokia Networks to expand its 4G presence in six new circles. Under the agreement, Nokia will be responsible for expansion of Airtel’s 4G presence using the former’s radio network.

With the deal signed, users can expect to witness super-fast mobile broadband services in the six circles. It should be noted that Nokia is already a supplier of TD-LTE network to Airtel, and will also deploy TD-LTE on the 2300MHz in 2 other circles.

“With our commitment to build an efficient Internet eco-system in India, we continue to introduce new technologies and strengthen our existing capabilities. Having already launched the high-speed 4G services across four circles of India, we are now looking at extending this enriching high-speed broadband experience to new circles on 1800MHz band. Our association with Nokia Networks will help us support our vision and provide a superior 4G network,” said Abhay Savargaonkar, chief technology officer of Bharti Airtel.

Commenting on the pact, Sandeep Girotra, Vice President and Head of India Region, Nokia Networks, noted, “We are happy to expand our TD-LTE footprint with Bharti and partner with them to deploy India’s first FDD-LTE in six new circles. Our rich experience gained in deploying FDD-LTE and TD-LTE to operators around the globe will ensure a fast and smooth network rollout. On top of that, our Flexi Zone solution will ensure the best possible LTE performance even in dense areas.”

Under the deal, Airtel will get cloud-ready network management system, Net Act, for effective and consolidated monitoring and optimization of the LTE network as well as services such as network planning and optimization, network implementation.