<p>Bharti <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/airtel">Airtel</a> on Wednesday signed a "multi-billion" dollar deal with Swedish telecom equipment maker <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ericsson">Ericsson</a> to boost its 4G and 5G coverage in the world's second-largest smartphone market.</p>.<p>Under the deal, which <em>Reuters</em> reported in October, Bharti Airtel will buy and deploy equipment from Ericsson likely in 2025. The companies did not disclose the exact financial terms of the deal.</p>.<p>Demand from India's 5G market started to skyrocket in 2023, as Bharti Airtel and Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries, started to scale up 5G services.</p>.<p>Ericsson, Bharti Airtel's partner of more than two decades, will deploy centralized radio access network (RAN) and Open RAN-ready solutions, Bharti Airtel said in a press release.</p>.<p>Open RAN allows mobile operators to mix and match equipment from various suppliers, potentially increasing flexibility.</p>.India's services sector saw strong growth in November, PMI shows.<p>Ericsson will also upgrade the software of its deployed 4G radios, it said.</p>.<p>"This deployment will enable us to further improve the speed, reliability, and coverage of our network," Bharti Airtel's Chief Technology Officer Randeep Sekhon said in the release. </p>.<p>The deal comes after Ericsson won part of a $3.6 billion contract to sell 5G equipment to Vodafone Idea earlier this year. It shared the contract with Nokia and Samsung.</p>.<p>The new deals are expected to boost Ericsson's revenue next year, after a big fall in contracts from India in the first half of the year. Nokia also signed a "multi-billion" dollar deal with Bharti Airtel last month. </p>
<p>Bharti <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/airtel">Airtel</a> on Wednesday signed a "multi-billion" dollar deal with Swedish telecom equipment maker <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/ericsson">Ericsson</a> to boost its 4G and 5G coverage in the world's second-largest smartphone market.</p>.<p>Under the deal, which <em>Reuters</em> reported in October, Bharti Airtel will buy and deploy equipment from Ericsson likely in 2025. The companies did not disclose the exact financial terms of the deal.</p>.<p>Demand from India's 5G market started to skyrocket in 2023, as Bharti Airtel and Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries, started to scale up 5G services.</p>.<p>Ericsson, Bharti Airtel's partner of more than two decades, will deploy centralized radio access network (RAN) and Open RAN-ready solutions, Bharti Airtel said in a press release.</p>.<p>Open RAN allows mobile operators to mix and match equipment from various suppliers, potentially increasing flexibility.</p>.India's services sector saw strong growth in November, PMI shows.<p>Ericsson will also upgrade the software of its deployed 4G radios, it said.</p>.<p>"This deployment will enable us to further improve the speed, reliability, and coverage of our network," Bharti Airtel's Chief Technology Officer Randeep Sekhon said in the release. </p>.<p>The deal comes after Ericsson won part of a $3.6 billion contract to sell 5G equipment to Vodafone Idea earlier this year. It shared the contract with Nokia and Samsung.</p>.<p>The new deals are expected to boost Ericsson's revenue next year, after a big fall in contracts from India in the first half of the year. Nokia also signed a "multi-billion" dollar deal with Bharti Airtel last month. </p>