In order to begin deploying the next generation networks in August, Bharti Airtel has secured multi-year contracts for the supply of 5G equipment with South Korea’s Samsung, Finland’s Nokia, and Sweden’s Ericsson, totalling around $2.5 billion (more than Rs 19,750 crore).
While the alliance with Ericsson and Nokia has been in place for a while, Samsung is a more recent addition, and the second-largest telecom provider in India has formally excluded Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE from its 5G installations.
“Our network agreements are finalised, and Airtel will collaborate with the best technology partners from across the world to bring the full benefits of 5G connection to our customers,” Bharti Airtel managing director Gopal Vittal said in a statement on Wednesday. According to him, 5G service rollout will start in August at the telco.
People with knowledge of the situation informed ET that the cumulative worth of the agreements with the three corporations is roughly $2.5 billion, despite the fact that neither the telco nor its partners made clear the details of their individual partnerships’ scope or dollar values.
Ericsson will roll out 5G networks for Bharti Airtel in 11 circles, including Delhi, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu; Nokia in 9 circles, including Mumbai; and Samsung in 2 circles, Punjab and Kolkata, out of the total 22.
Following Bharti Airtel’s participation in the recently finished 5G auctions, where the telecom giant won the right to use 19867.8 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands for 20 years by paying Rs 43,084 crore, the 5G equipment sales have been announced.
“We are pleased that they have selected Nokia’s best-in-class AirScale baseband and radio portfolio to deliver excellent 5G performance in one of the largest networks in the world,” said Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark.
“5G will have a powerful impact on India’s consumers and businesses,” said Paul (Kyungwhoon) Cheun, president, of Samsung Electronics. “It will elevate mobile experiences to a new level, introduce a variety of enhanced capabilities, and expand what is possible.”
Samsung was Reliance Jio’s exclusive 4G supplier, but it will now gain access to Bharti Airtel, although in a restricted capacity.
This is because Samsung does not have a robust 5G portfolio, explained Ashwinder Sethi, chief analyst at Analysys Mason, noting that Nokia and Ericsson and have a marginal advantage in terms of product offerings.
Continuing with the same vendors is more practical from an operational standpoint, according to Sethi. They can be backwards compatible thanks to it. On the legacy networks, voice will still be carried.
“Airtel will upgrade roughly 30,000-odd sites to 5G in the initial roll-out, believed to be in the top metros,” Sethi said, adding that the first list will include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and other major cities.