Bharti airtel and Ericsson extended   their strategic alliance  with a USD 1.3 billion network expansion contract to provide 3G services to airtel 3G users . The agreement will enable Airtel to put in place a converged network and expanded coverage in rural India. Ericsson will expand and upgrade Airtel''s network in 15 of India's 22 telecom circles.

"Our pioneering model of aligning with strategic partners who share our vision and bring in world-class experience and expertise to execute our plans has helped us focus on our customers and market place," said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO- India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel. "The extension of our fifteen years association with Ericsson is testimony to the strength of the relationship as well as the success of the model. We continue to be delighted with Ericsson's expertise in network expansion and transformation, helping us to reduce operating expenditures and enhance network quality. This way we can continue to provide a superior customer experience." 

Gowton Achaibar, Head of Region, Ericsson India, said: “We are excited to bring this new opportunity to the Indian telecom market. Our long standing association with Bharti has reached a new level today with the introduction of data based services. Thanks to our close collaboration with Bharti, we have successfully rolled out this comprehensive and complex network in a very short time.”

As part of this contract, Ericsson will supply its industry-leading portfolio of energy efficient 2G/2.5G radio base stations, circuit and packet core, microwave transmission and Intelligent Network. In addition, Ericsson will ensure that Bharti Airtel's core and transport network is 3G-ready in order to reduce time to market and enable the fast rollout of 3G services at a later date. The expansion covers introduction of some of the latest technologies within the wireless world which will bring better quality voice to end users, support more users in using one base station, enhanced data rates using Evolved EDGE technology and other new services.