Ericsson has clinched a significant multi-year managed services contract with Bharti Airtel to oversee its nationwide network operations in India. This latest collaboration strengthens the long-standing partnership between the two companies, which spans over 25 years.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will deploy its advanced Network Operations Centre (NOC) to manage Airtel’s 4G, 5G, and 5G standalone (SA) services. The deal also includes plans to expand support for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and network slicing across India, leveraging Ericsson’s centralized solutions to enhance scalability.
Andres Vicente, head of Ericsson’s market area for Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, stated, “By leveraging Intent-Based NOC Operations, we will enable Airtel to unlock wider service diversification to meet customer needs, thereby enabling new revenue opportunities for Airtel.”
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This contract builds on a February partnership where Ericsson provided its 5G Core network technology to bolster Airtel’s network capacity as it transitions to a full-scale 5G SA network.
Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, saying, “We are excited to enhance our strong collaboration with Ericsson as we pursue our goal of creating a future-ready network that delivers an exceptional experience for our customers. We believe that these innovative technologies will empower us to meet the growing data demands of consumers in a digitally connected India.”
