Nokia and Airtel to expand 4G deployment in three new circles

Nokia has inked a new deal with Airtel to expand 4G deployment in three new circles in addition to six circles it already serves, enabling launch of new services that started in September.

Nokia will deploy its 4G FDD-LTE & TD-LTE technology across nine of Bharti Airtel’s circles in India including the regions of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rest of Bengal, Odisha, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala and UP East, serving major cities such as Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Patna and Siliguri. Nokia will also expand the operator’s 3G network in eight of the territories as part of this rollout and modernization of legacy 2G BTS. The rollout uses Nokia’s radio access with Single RAN technology for FDD-LTE and TD-LTE. The company will provide professional services including network integration and network planning and optimization.

In the 2016 MBiT Index Nokia reported an eightfold increase in India’s 4G LTE device ecosystem for 2015, while other statistics show that access to news, video content, gaming and social media accounts for 60 percent of India’s total mobile data traffic – and it is rising. Bharti Airtel will be able to provide improved coverage and faster mobile Internet access, while laying the foundation for the delivery of enhanced video services and other on-demand applications.

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