Bharti Airtel has announced it has selected Ericsson as its partner for the launch of 4G services in Delhi, India, with Ericsson to provide equipment and software for the roll-out of the new network.
Under the contract, Ericsson will provide its multi-standard radio equipment from the Ericsson RBS 6000 base station family for macro and small cell networks; as well as deploying the company’s LTE RAN software for Bharti Airtel.
The companies said the partnership will enable Bharti Airtel to meet growing customer demand for mobile broadband services and deliver higher quality network performance. On 4G, Airtel says its subscribers will be able to enjoy an improved smartphone experience, faster web browsing, downloads, video on demand, and other services.
"The Delhi market is currently experiencing a rapid increase in the uptake of data-centric services. We at Airtel are deeply committed towards delivering the best data experience for smartphone users and have made investments in high speed 4G networks to improve the data experience of the customer,” said Abhay Savargaonkar, chief technology officer (CTO) of Bharti Airtel.
The agreement covers 4 years, and marks the first LTE-FDD rollout by Ericsson in Delhi. Airtel has also partnered Ericsson for 4G network deployments in four other circles.
Ericsson claims to be the market leader in LTE network technology with 40% of the world's LTE smartphone traffic currently served by Ericsson networks.
In India, Ericsson’s Mobility Report predicts LTE subscriptions in India will reach more than 230 million by 2020, forming around 17% of the country’s total subscription base.
"LTE will be a key enabler in realising Ericsson's vision of the Networked Society and our high capacity LTE network infrastructure will enable Airtel subscribers to enjoy a seamless, high-speed mobile broadband experience,” said Paolo Colella, Head of Region for India at Ericsson.
