Aircel, BSNL ink 10yr infra-sharing deal

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Indian telecom service provider Aircel announced that it has signed a 10-year infrastructure sharing agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

With this tower-sharing agreement, Aircel, which currently has about 32,000 base stations, will now have access to approximately 45,000 BSNL towers across all its circles.

Aircel, which is part of Malaysia's Maxis Communications,  did not disclose financial details of the deal.

Aircel said a significant portion of BSNL’s sites are electrified. Sharing these towers that cover 96 percent of all districts across the country will help Aircel expand its footprint and gain time to market.

Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel, said: “Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL's 21 circles (excluding Mumbai and Delhi). Leveraging BSNL's passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost."