ZTE Corp. announced that it closed a deal worth $85 million to build and deploy a 3G network for pan-India operator Aircel. The win doesn’t exactly translate to a new customer for the Chinese vendor because ZTE already supplied equipment for Aircel’s existing GSM network.
As part of the new contract, ZTE will upgrade Aircel’s network to UMTS and the vendor hinted at subsequent upgrades to come down the line.
“This contract between ZTE and Aircel is a significant one for ZTE in the Indian market,” ZTE India CEO Huang Dabin said.
Aircel has spectrum for 13 new cities in India, according to Times of India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.