Bharti Airtel is slowing reducing the dependency on Chinese telecom gear makers and replacing them with other alternatives available in the market. As reported by ET Telecom, Bharti Airtel is planning to replace Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei with Swedish Telecom gear maker Ericsson for its 4G expansion and modernisation plan in the Rest of Tamil Nadu circle. Since the government has barred Chinese telecom gear makers from supplying equipment to state-owned telcos BSNL and MTNL, private telcos are slowly inclining towards different suppliers. Randeep Sekhon, who is the CTO of Bharti Airtel earlier stated that alternative suppliers are available in the world. Also, new suppliers are coming in, which will not trouble the telcos in India.
Ericsson Could Supply Telecom Gears in 8 Airtel Circles
Ericsson has become more aggressive in the market. Also, the Swedish telecom gear maker is positioning itself as the best alternative available in the market with the portfolio of providing previous generations technologies and competitive pricing. If Bharti Airtel replaces Huawei, Ericsson will supply telecom gear in 8 circles whereas Huawei and ZTE will supply telecom gears in two and three circles respectively. Airtel is not focusing on replacing Chinese gear maker ZTE as it is currently supplying telecom gears to the telco in Punjab, Haryana and Kolkata. Mahesh Uppal, who is the director at telecom consultancy firm ComFirst, stated that uncertainty in the future supply of telecom gear from Chinese vendors, especially Huawei, will affect the working of that telco.
Vodafone Idea Will Face Difficulty in Chinese Vendors
Telco giant Vodafone Idea is also being sceptical about sourcing equipment from Huawei. However, it will be difficult for the telco to replace Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei as it had signed a multi-year deal back in 2018 when Vodafone India and Idea Cellular were merged. Nokia offers telecom gears to nine circles of Vodafone Idea whereas Ericsson supplies telecom gear in eight circles. As of Chinese telecom gear makers, Huawei and ZTE supply telecom gears in seven and five circles of Vodafone Idea.
