Airtel hands 2G/3G infrastructure contracts to NSN in Africa

Bharti Airtel (Airtel) announced today it has entered into an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to expand its 2G (GSM/EDGE) networks and deploy 3G networks in seven African countries. Under the agreement, NSN will manage end-to-end network operations, including planning, designing and implementing the 2G and 3G networks for Airtel.

Manoj Kohli, CEO, (International) and joint managing director, Bharti Airtel, said: “This agreement manifests our commitment to provide world-class, innovative and affordable mobile services to customers in Africa. We believe NSN’s global expertise in managed services and compact energy-efficient network equipment are a perfect fit to our long-term goal to be the leading telecommunications provider in the African continent.

NSN will use its FlexiHybrid microwave radio to address growing data traffic and provide the platform for a cost-effective transition to 3G, and potentially 4G networks in the future. The company will also provide its NetAct network management system for effective network monitoring and management.

In addition, NSN’s end-to-end managed services will enable Airtel to focus on delivering better customer experience and offer more innovative products and services to customers across markets.