Telco major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced that it has signed 5G network agreements with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to commence 5G deployment in Airtel. The development comes after the recently-concluded 5G spectrum auctions conducted by the Department of Telecom (DoT), where Airtel bid for and acquired 19867.8 MHZ spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency worth Rs 43,084 crore.
Airtel was the second highest bidder in the auctions while its close rival Reliance Jio acquired the top bidding with 24,740 MHz spectrum worth Rs 88,078 crore.
Choice of multiple partners will enable Airtel to roll out 5G services spanning ultra-high-speeds, low latency and large data handling capabilities, which will enable a superior user experience and allow the pursuit of new, innovative use cases with enterprise and industry customers, the telco said in a statement.
Moreover, Airtel will also bring in South Korean Major Samsung as a network partner to deploy #Airtel5G. This is the first time that both companies will work together.
Speaking about the agreements, Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Airtel said, “Our network agreements are finalized and Airtel will work with the best technology partners from across the world to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity to our consumers. India’s transition into a digital economy will be led by telecom and 5G presents a game-changing opportunity to drive the digital transformation of industries, enterprises and the socio-economic development of India.”
Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, said: “With Ericsson’s unrivalled, global 5G deployment experience, we will help Bharti Airtel deliver the full benefits of 5G to Indian consumers and enterprises, while seamlessly evolving the Bharti network from 4G to 5G. 5G will enable India to realize its Digital India vision and foster inclusive development of the country.”
Moreover, the multi-year deal will also see Nokia provide equipment from its AirScale portfolio along with solutions and services for network management, deployment, planning and optimization services to ensure the best end-user experiences. Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO, of Nokia said, “This landmark deal reinforces our long-standing partnership with Bharti Airtel. We are delighted that they have chosen Nokia's best-in-class AirScale baseband and radio portfolio to deliver superior 5G performance in one of the world's largest networks."
In the auction that went on for seven days till August 1, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises were in the race to bid for the 5G spectrum, which offers speeds about 10 times faster than 4G, lag-free connectivity and can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time.
Besides powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), the Fifth Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming, among others.