Bharti selects Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia for 3G network

Leading telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has selected Ericsson India, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Huawei Technologies for setting up its third generation (3G) network across 13 circles.

This is the first time the company has given a deal to Chinese telecom vendor Huawei in the country.

Ericsson has been given an order to plan, design, deploy and maintain 3G-HSPA (third generation, high speed packet access) networks across seven circles, while NSN and Huawei have managed to get three circles each, the company said in a statement. With Ericsson and Nokia Siemens, Bharti has extended a relationship to the 3G space, it said.

The company, however, did not reveal the deal size.

In the recently concluded 3G auction, Bharti had won spectrum in 13 circles for Rs 12,295 crore.

“This deployment will enable Bharti Airtel to extend its leadership position in the Indian market and meet the growing demand for high-speed surfing and wireless entertainment in the country,” the company said.

The 3G services will usher in a new era targeted towards mobile broadband, given the enhanced speed and user experience which the technology enables, the statement added.

3G mobile services are expected to launch by the end of this year or early next year. The successful winners in the auction were allotted spectrum on September 1.

These would allow mobile subscribers to access the internet and download data at a much faster pace.

Bharti said the three partners would play a catalyst’s role in enhancing customer experience and the data usage habits in the country.

The 13 circles include the lucrative metros of Delhi and Mumbai. The others are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (W), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, J&K and Assam.

Last week, Bharti Airtel had selected global technology major IBM to manage computing technology and services of their mobile network across 16 African countries. The 10-year agreement with IBM is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of this financial year. IBM is already handling the IT operations of Bharti Airtel in India since 2004.

In March, the company had announced a deal with Kuwait-based Zain for acquiring its African operations in 15 countries at an enterprise value of $10.7 billion.