 "Airtel awards 'multi-year, multi-billion' extension deal to Ericsson")
Two weeks after awarding a 'multi-year, multi-billion' extension deal to telecom equipment maker Nokia for 4G and 5G equipment, Bharti Airtel has announced a similar deal with Ericsson.
On Wednesday, Airtel and Ericsson said the Swedish telecom equipment maker will deploy centralised Radio Access Network (RAN) and Open RAN-ready solutions. Ericsson will also undertake the software upgrade of its currently deployed 4G radios, thereby enhancing the customer experience.
The two latest deals mark the first major set of sourcing agreements announced by Airtel since it rolled out orders for the 5G rollout back in August 2022. The telco is expected to announce a third deal with Samsung as part of this latest set. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea (Vi) had made public its $3.6-billion network equipment order to global equipment makers Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung over a three-year period in September.
Industry insiders say the spate of deals may revive expectations of rising capital expenditure (capex) in India's telecom market, which had increasingly dried up over the past two years since the 5G rollout began.
In the first six months of FY25, Airtel has already spent Rs 13,061 crore on capital expenditure. The telco's capex reached a high of Rs 33,353 crore in FY24, up from Rs 28,057 crore in FY23, Rs 20,443 crore in FY22, and Rs 19,257 crore in FY21. Airtel had a customer base of 407 million in India at the end of September, which reduced by 2 million in the latest quarter due to subscriber churn following tariff hikes in July. 4G and 5G subscribers made up 75 per cent of this.
“The strategic partnership with Ericsson to deploy the latest technology is a testament to Airtel's pursuit of network excellence. This deployment will enable us to further improve the speed, reliability, and coverage of our network, ensuring an exceptional experience for our customers,” Randeep Sekhon, chief technology officer at Bharti Airtel, said.
Ericsson has been a trusted connectivity partner for Airtel for over 25 years, supporting every generation of mobile communications. “This partnership extension reflects our shared vision to build a robust 4G and 5G infrastructure for Bharti Airtel to serve the connectivity needs of its customer base – including the new 5G use cases as they emerge. We will work closely with Bharti Airtel to deliver great user experiences for their customers,” Andres Vicente, head of Ericsson South-east Asia, Oceania, and India, said.