Airtel ties-up with Alcatel Lucent for IP access n/w

BANGALORE, INDIA: Telecommunications service provider Bharti Airtel has selected Alcatel-Lucent to create Internet protocol (IP) access network — based on Carrier Ethernet technology (CEN).

This IP network will allow Bharti Airtel to meet the bandwidth requirements of customers while accessing data, video and Internet services on an array of devices, such as smart-phones, tablets and laptops, says the company in a release.

Jagbir Singh, director — Network Services Group, Bharti Airtel, said: “Given the exponential growth in the uptake of data in India, we thought it is the right time for us to transition to a scalable IP-based access network for reasons of both cost and performance. With this we will usher in the next level of user experience that brings alive high-bandwidth applications such as high-speed Internet, interactive TV, mobile video blogging and many more."

Munish Seth, president and managing director, Alcatel-Lucent India, said: “We are delighted that Bharti Airtel has chosen Alcatel-Lucent to provide a consistent level of quality in delivering broadband services and voice to all their subscribers. It puts them in a great position to face the challenges of increased bandwidth demand as the millions of their customers discover the power and appeal of the mobile internet for data access, social interaction, gaming and mobile television to name just some of the available options."

Bharti Airtel's move to create a CEN (carrier-grade Ethernet)-based IP access network will help the company to offer its customers various services such as video streaming, high speed data , social network-based applications, online gaming, video conferencing and online collaboration. Moreover, this network would also be catering to the DSL broadband as well as 2G/3G/4G voice and data traffic, adds the release.

The key elements of the Bharti Airtel mobile backhaul network are Alcatel-Lucent’s 7750 Service Router, 7705 Service Aggregation Router (SAR) and 5620 Service Aware Manager