Telecom operators in India are struggling hard to pay off their AGR(Adjusted Gross Revenue) debts but that is not stopping Bharti Airtel to improve and expand its 4G coverage. The Indian firm has just signed a contract worth crores (₹) with Finnish network equipment manufacturer Nokia.

Airtel plans to expand and upgrade its network in nine circles across India, including rural areas. The equipment used in these locations were provided by Nokia. Hence, once again, the company makes a deal with the Finland-based corporation for modernising them.

Nokia was the original 4G equipment provider for Airtel in 9 circles – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal excluding Kolkata, Odisha, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala and UP East. This deal in 2016 was estimated at $500, however, the exact cost of the new contract is unknown at the moment.

In addition to Nokia, Airtel has also confirmed to be in talks with other vendors like Ericsson, Huawei, and ZTE, who have provided equipment to the telco in certain circles earlier.

Recently, Airtel welcomed bids (RFP – Request For Proposal) for Tamil Nadu circle, which is currently served by Huawei. On the other hand, the telco replaced Huawei with Ericsson for 4G expansion and modernisation in Rajasthan for services like VoLTE.

At present, Chinese telecom companies such as ZTE and Huawei handle three circles each for Airtel. Whereas, Ceragon, an Israeli company was given a contract last week by Airtel to expand 4G networks in rural areas.

Airtel is expanding its 4G coverage in rural areas to compete Reliance Jio, the firm’s main rival. In March, the telco revealed its plans to add 22,000-26,000 4G sites across the country. This will not only help in improving coverage in rural areas but will also support data demand surge in urban areas.

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(Source)

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