The global technology leader Nokia and the telecom operator Bharti Airtel have joined together to deploy 4G technology across nine circles in India as a means to meet the increasing data demand in the country.
According to Nokia, India reports a massive increase in 4G LTE device ecosystem. Also, there is an increase in the access of news, video content, gaming and social media and the traffic from these contents account for around 60% of the country’s mobile data traffic. This estimate is further on the rise.
“To address this growth, Bharti Airtel has acquired more mobile broadband spectrum. The new agreement with Nokia will see it expand the deployment of 4G technology in three new circles in addition to six circles it already serves, enabling the launch of new services that started in September,” a statement released from Nokia said.
The circles that receive the new deployment include 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.
Besides the deployment of 4G FDD-LTE and TD-LTE technology, Nokia will also expand the 3G network in eight of the territories. It will also assist in the modernization of 2G BTS. Nokia will be in charge of the network integration and network planning and optimization.
Commenting on the 4G deployment in nine circles, Sanjay Malik, head of India Market at Nokia said, “We have a long history of working with Bharti Airtel and with this latest agreement we have become the largest supplier of 4G for the company. This network expansion will provide the capacity, coverage and speeds the company needs to meet the next wave of data demand in India.”
“We are pleased to continue to leverage Nokia's leading radio access technology and services expertise to expand 4G capacity and coverage and further increase the quality of service for subscribers,” Airtel said.
