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Sweden : ERICSSON secures 4G deal from Bharti Airtel, gains 2 more from Idea Cellular [TendersInfo (India)]
[October 11, 2014]

Sweden : ERICSSON secures 4G deal from Bharti Airtel, gains 2 more from Idea Cellular [TendersInfo (India)]


(TendersInfo (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Ericsson said that it has secured a contract from India's No.1 telecom carrier Bharti AirtelBSE -2.96 % for supply of base stations and other equipment for its 4G network.

Ericsson did not reveal the size of the deal, which is the first in the country for rolling out services using the FDD-LTE technology.

Chris Houghton, head of region-India at Ericsson said, We have got a network infrastructure deal from them (Airtel), which include base stations and other equipment . "Though, I can't comment on specifics of the deal." Ericsson, which has approximately 45% share in the global 4G LTE market, introduced its small cell radio dot system along with a multi-band indoor picocell, which aims to solve challenges mobile operators would face with coverage within buildings, especially in 4G.



Ericsson's 4G network deal for Airtel's high-speed data services on the 1800 Mhz band using the FDD-LTE technology marks the first step towards rolling out 4G in India on a technology that is more widely accepted globally, compared with the TDD-LTE technology.

TDD-LTE, which make use of 2300 Mhz band frequency, has technical limitations due to which Bharti and Aircel have rolled out services in only a few cities. Reliance Jio Infocomm, which has a pan-India licence to present 4G on the TDD-LTE standard, has not launched services so far.


In addition Jio and Airtel, some other telcos for example Vodafone India and Idea won spectrum in the 1800 Mhz band in the auctions held in February. This spectrum can in addition be used for 4G on the FDD-LTE technology in future.

Airtel, actually, secured airwaves in the band in 15 circles including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Hougton though said that it would take time for 4G to go mass market in India, but added that the adoption will be much quicker than previous generation technologies such as 2G and 3G.

He said, "Today, only 12% of Indian operators' revenue comes from data and that will increase definitely once these next gen networks are in place and smartphone become cheaper," he said .

The deal covers Bharti Airtel's Night Store, a first of its kind store that facilitates customers to buy value-for-money offers on their prepaid mobile for internet usage and local calling at night (12 midnight to 6 am).

Airtel's Night Store is obtainable in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, UP (West), J&K, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, North East and Assam telecom circles.

(c) 2014 Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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