Bharti Airtel awarded a multi-year contract to Nokia for 5G radio access network (RAN) deployment. The companies said the contract represents approximately a 45% share of Bharti’s planned 5G RAN rollout. Nokia has been a supplier to Bharti for the past 18 years.
Under this contract, Nokia will provide equipment from itsAirScale portfolio, including modular and scalable baseband as well as high-capacity 5G massive MIMO radios.
This multi-year deal follows the recently concluded 5G spectrum auctions and allocation of pan-India spectrum to Bharti Airtel, supporting their ambition to take India into the 5G era.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel said, “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Nokia and take India into the 5G era. Airtel has always believed that the real leverage of 5G technology will come from the capacity to build an ecosystem across devices, networks, applications, and services. As mobile penetration increases across India, mobile telecom services will have a transformative impact across all sectors of the economy. Airtel is investing in the right areas and working with the right partners to serve our customers even better.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia said, “This landmark deal reinforces our long-standing partnership with Bharti Airtel. We are delighted that they have chosen Nokia’s best-in-class AirScale baseband and radio portfolio to deliver superior 5G performance in one of the world’s largest networks. I look forward to our continued successful long-term collaboration in this vital and dynamic market.”
