Airtel deal with NSN for expansion in Africa

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel Thursday said it has signed an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks to expand its second generation (2G) network and deploy third generation (3G) network in seven African countries.

Nokia Siemens will manage end-to-end network operations, including planning, designing and implementing the 2G and 3G networks for Airtel.

The vendor will provide its energy-efficient base stations to expand network coverage to under-served areas, including smaller towns and villages in the seven countries.

However, the companies did not disclose the details of the financial transactions.

"We believe Nokia Siemens' global expertise in managed services and compact energy-efficient network equipment are a perfect fit to our long-term goal to be the leading telecommunications provider in the African continent," said Bharti Airtel chief executive officer (International) and joint managing director Manoj Kohli.

"This partnership will further enable us to rapidly expand our network coverage and provide high-speed wireless internet connectivity to our customers," he added.

Nokia Siemens will use its FlexiHybrid microwave radio to address growing data traffic and provide the platform for a cost-effective transition to 3G, and potentially 4G networks in the future.

The company will also provide its NetAct network management system for network monitoring and management.