Bharti Airtel will deploy Aviat’s all outdoor WTM 4800 E-Band and Multi-Band solutions
Indian carrier Bharti Airtel has inked a commercial contract with Austin-based company Aviat Networks under which the latter will supply its wireless multiband radios.
As part of the contract, Airtel will deploy Aviat’s all-outdoor WTM 4800 E-Band and Multi-Band solutions with the aim of expanding the capacity of its microwave backhaul network.
Aviat said that its multi-band, vendor agnostic feature enables traffic aggregation from multiple links, which improves network congestion and gives better speeds to customers. Aviat Networks will also undertake maintenance and deployment as part of the deal with the Indian telco. Airtel will deploy dual channel E-Band radio to augment its existing installed microwave network as well as new greenfield links in support of its ongoing 5G network deployments.
Randeep Sekhon, Airtel’s CTO said: “Aviat’s E-Band and multi-band radio solutions are a good fit with our network capabilities, which combined with their strengths in delivery and supply chain will enable Airtel deliver seamless 5G experience to customers across India in record time.”
“We are delighted to be able to support Airtel’s 5G service deployment. India is one of the fastest and largest growing 5G markets in the world and Aviat’s product capabilities will significantly lower the total cost of ownership and our delivery infrastructure will enable faster roll out,” said Pete Smith, CEO of Aviat Networks.
Bharti Airtel has also recently selected Israeli wireless solutions firm Ceragon Networks for the provision of wireless multiband radio solutions.
Ceragon will supply its IP-50E and multi-band vendor agnostic technology to provide capacity enhancement to Airtel’s existing network. Ceragon and Airtel have successfully conducted real-world tests in multiple cities across India.
Earlier this month, Bharti Airtel launched 5G services in eight Indian cities with plans to progressively cover the entire country by March 2024. Some of the cities where Airtel already offers 5G include Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Bangalore. The operator’s founder and chairman Sunil Mittal said that most parts of the country will be covered by 5G by March 2023.
Bharti Airtel is chiefly using equipment from Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung for the provision of 5G services. The Indian operator secured a total of 19,800 megahertz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands in a recent auction carried out by the Indian government.
Rival telco Reliance Jio Infocomm had also recently announced the launch of the beta trial of its 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi. The carrier confirmed that its 5G service will be offered through 5G Standalone architecture and through a mix of wireless spectrum across the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is currently in talks with several venders for the supply of 5G gear. The telco is also seeking to obtain financial resoirces for the launch of its 5G network.
More than 200 Indian cities are expected to get 5G service in the next six months, and 5G services could be available in 80-90% of the country in the next two years.
