Nokia secures deal with Airtel for 5G deployment

Nokia said Wednesday it has secured a deal with Bharti Airtel (Airtel) for the deployment of 5G radio access network (RAN). As part of the deal, the Finnish firm will provide equipment from its market-leading AirScale portfolio, including modular and scalable baseband as well as high-capacity 5G massive MIMO radios.

"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," said Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia.

We're delighted that @airtelindia has selected us for #5G deployment to deliver superior 5G performance in one of the world's largest networks. This multi-year deal covers equipment from our industry-leading AirScale Base Station portfolio.Find out more: https://t.co/u4grCYId2R pic.twitter.com/c7y2xTePN6

— Nokia (@nokia) August 3, 2022

In a separate press release, Airtel said that it has signed 5G network deals with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to commence 5G deployment in August 2022. Choice of multiple partners will enable the operator to roll out the next-gen services spanning ultra-high-speeds, low latency and large data handling capabilities.

"This landmark deal reinforces our long-standing partnership with Bharti Airtel. We are delighted to announce that Airtel will commence roll out of 5G services in August. Our network agreements are finalized and Airtel will work with the best technology partners from across the world to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity to our consumers," said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Airtel.

The deal follows Airtel's recent acquisition of 19867.8 MHZ spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency in spectrum auctions conducted by the Department of Telecom in India.