Telecom gear maker Nokia and Bharti Airtel, India’s third-largest telecom company, inks a $1 billion multi-year deal to expedite 4G network expansion and to lay the foundation for future 5G infrastructure. Under the terms of the deal finalized on Tuesday, Nokia will deploy roughly 300,000 radio units for Airtel by 2022, reported Yahoo Finance.
“This is an important agreement for the future of connectivity in one of the world’s largest telecoms markets and solidifies our position in India,” said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri.
Although Nokia is already the largest 4G radio vendor in Airtel’s network, the new deal is expected to strengthen its market position. Analysts are likely eager to see Nokia’s 1st quarter earnings report due on April 30.
According to a statement by Airtel, the company will, “deploy Nokia’s single RAN solutions, including radio access, RAN equipment, baseband, and OSS across nine circles in India.”
“We are committed to continuously invest in emerging network technologies to provide a best-in-class experience to our customers. This initiative with Nokia is a major step in this direction,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia) at Bharti Airtel said.
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