Indian telco Bharti Airtel said on Tuesday it has signed a deal to deploy 5G core network solutions from Ericsson as part of its plan to transition to a 5G standalone (SA) network.
As part of the agreement, Ericsson will deploy its signaling controller solution in Airtel's network, as well as its 5G SA-enabled charging and policy solution will be introduced.
Andres Vicente, head of Southeast Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson, said both solutions will help Airtel develop new business models to monetise 5G.
“Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G core enables monetization through network slicing-based services and network API exposure, unleashing new, innovative use cases for consumers and enterprises,” Vicente said in a joint statement.
Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon added that the telco’s collaboration with Ericsson will enable it to seamlessly transition to a commercially live, full-scale 5G Standalone network over time.
“This rollout will play a pivotal role in Airtel's long-term 5G strategy, boosting network capacity and enabling the delivery of innovative, differentiated services to customers,” he said in a joint statement.
