Bharti Airtel, India’s largest communications service provider, and Ericsson have strengthened their long-standing partnership. They have signed renewed multi-year contract to supply and deploy 5G-ready radio and transport solutions.
The continued deployment of Ericsson Radio System products and solutions should enhance Airtel’s network capacity and deliver a superior experience to its customers. By using MINI-LINK 6000 products, Airtel will also increase the network’s backhaul capacities. The extended agreement is another milestone in the companies’ 25-year partnership and follows the announcement of a renewed Pan-India managed services contract in July of this year.
Airtel Africa is also expanding its strategic partnership with Ericsson to enable 4G coverage in Kenya. With RAN and packet core products for 4G, Airtel subscribers will experience enhanced quality of voice and data. The network modernization deal, signed in August 2020, is in line with the 'Kenyan Digital Economy Blueprint Vision 2030' which aims to provide robust connectivity in rural areas and facilitate e-commerce platforms.
The modernization deal will simplifiy and upgrade the existing network while future-proofing it for the anticipated and rapid expansion of mobile connectivity in the country. With Radio System and Packet Core solutions, Airtel Kenya’s network will have 4G coverage, while driving enhanced use cases in both the consumer and the enterprise segments. Ericsson technology will also get the network in Kenya ready for 5G deployment.
Nokia and SURF, the organization for IT in Dutch education and research, have successfully reached a single carrier 800Gb/s optical transmission over SURF’s existing cross-border, multi-vendor research and education network infrastructure.
Nokia and Vodafone are collaborating to test the viability of L4S technology over passive optical networks (PON).
The GSMA believes that critical reform of European laws is necessary to position the region as a technology frontrunner by 2030.
