Bharti Airtel, on Tuesday has selected Nokia Networks to roll out its 3G network in 5 new telecom circles and network expansion in 3 existing telecom circles. Under the 4 year contract, Nokia Networks will provide its radio elements and services expertise to power Bharti Airtel's infrastructure.

"The Indian telecom environment is currently experiencing a rapid increase in the uptake of data-centric services. As market leaders, we at Airtel are deeply committed to delivering the best data experience for smartphone users and making continued network investments to help us realize the vast potential of this data opportunity. We are happy to further extend our long term association with Nokia Networks towards innovating our network's service delivery mechanism and deliver a host of multi-media apps as well as services for Airtel customers. We see this association underscoring Airtel's constant focus on building a world-class, next-generation smartphone network for its customers," said Abhay Savargaonkar, Director of Network Services Group, Bharti Airtel.

"The strong traction in India's 3G market, driven by the rising demand for data-intensive apps and services, is the primary impetus behind Bharti Airtel's 3G expansion initiatives with Nokia Networks. With this project, we have further strengthened Bharti's 3G proposition in 8 business-critical circles in India including 5 new circles, adding yet another dimension to our collaboration which continues to gain momentum with such strategic engagements," said Sandeep Girotra, Vice President and Head of India Market, Nokia Networks.

Deal details at a glance:
 
• Network planning and optimization, network implementation, network operations, project management and care services, including hardware and software maintenance as well as competence development.

• Compact and energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station, a software-defined radio platform complemented with Flexi Lite Base Station, a small all-in-one base station optimized for indoor and outdoor micro-cell deployments with superior capacity and coverage in densely crowded areas.

• Extremely compact, highly scalable and flexible multi-technology, all-IP multicontroller RNC (mcRNC).

• NetAct, a cloud-ready virtualized OSS, for effective and consolidated monitoring and optimization.