Airtel and Nokia Expand Partnership for Advanced 5G Evolution with Packet Core and FWA Solutions

Airtel Deploys Nokia’s Packet Core and FWA Solution for Advanced 5G Evolution
Bharti Airtel and Nokia are expanding their partnership with the deployment of Nokia’s Packet Core appliance-based and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions to continue Airtel’s evolution towards Advanced 5G. This deployment aims to enhance network performance for Airtel’s 4G and 5G customer base across India, the companies said in a joint statement on April 2, 2025.

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Also Read: Bharti Airtel Awards 5G Extension Deal to Nokia for 5G-Advanced Network Evolution

4G and 5G Integration

Nokia’s Packet Core solution will integrate 4G and 5G technologies into a single set of servers, improving network efficiency and scalability. The solution enables Airtel to optimise its hardware footprint, reduce operational costs, and enhance service agility. Additionally, Nokia’s FWA will boost home broadband and enterprise-critical applications by increasing capacity and coverage.

Network Automation

“Using Nokia’s converged Packet Core solution for 5G standalone (SA) readiness, Airtel will continue its evolution toward advanced 5G and simplify its network architecture to meet the ever growing need of data while reducing network operational costs. This will help Airtel optimise its hardware footprint and reduce its cost per bit by utilising appliance-based Packet Core gateways, while maintaining the rest of the network elements in a cloud-native architecture,” Nokia said.

The multi-year deployment, spanning the majority of Airtel’s service regions, includes network automation using Nokia’s automation framework. This will support zero-touch service launches and streamlined lifecycle management, expediting new service rollouts while reducing operational complexities. According to the official release, Airtel will also leverage Nokia’s converged Packet Core for 5G Standalone (SA) readiness, simplifying network architecture and cutting costs per bit.