Airtel picks Nokia, Ericsson for 5G deployment in India
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As India completed its mega 5G spectrum auction, telecom service provider Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced that it has awarded its 5G contract to tech giants Nokia and Ericsson in the country.
Nokia said it will provide equipment from its market-leading AirScale portfolio, including modular and scalable baseband as well as high-capacity 5G massive MIMO radios.
"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," Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel, said in a statement.
"5G presents a game-changing opportunity to drive the digital transformation of industries, enterprises and the socio-economic development of India. With our 5G network, we aim to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity, fuel India's journey towards a digital economy and strengthen the country's position on the world stage," he added.
Meanwhile, Ericsson said that Airtel will deploy power-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System and Ericsson microwave mobile transport solutions.
Ericsson will be providing 5G connectivity in 12 circles for Bharti Airtel.
In addition to an enhanced user experience for Airtel customers -- spanning ultra-high-speeds, low latency and large data handling capabilities -- Ericsson 5G network products and solutions will also enable Bharti Airtel to pursue new, innovative use cases with its enterprise and industry customers.
"With Ericsson's unrivaled, global 5G deployment experience, we will help Bharti Airtel deliver the full benefits of 5G to Indian consumers and enterprises, while seamlessly evolving the Bharti network from 4G to 5G," said Borje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson.
