14 DAY TRIAL // Bharti Airtel has awarded Ericsson an estimated USD 1 billion contract, including expansion and an upgrade of its GSM/GPRS network and managed services. The deal will enable Bharti Airtel to rapidly extend its GSM footprint in the country and increase its network capacity.
The three-year services agreement will see Ericsson manage design, development and deployment of Bharti's network, including capacity and coverage, enabling the operator to expand in rural India and reach out to all towns and cities in 15 regions.
Ericsson will also upgrade the network with mobile softswitch (Media Gateway and MSC Servers), the solution that paves the way to an all-IP network. Bharti Airtel will be able to reduce the operational costs and introduce new services in a cost-efficient way.
Ericsson seems to be a long-term Bharti partner, managing more than 70 percent of its GSM/GPRS network in 15 regions in India.