Jio has already deployed its 5G service in 6,083 cities across 36 states in India
Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm is set to sign a contract worth around $1.7 billion with Finnish vendor Nokia for the acquisition of 5G network equipment, local newspaper The Economic Times reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
According to the report, the deal was expected to be signed by the end of this week at Nokia’s headquarters near Helsinki.
This new 5G contract will be in addition to the 5G deal worth $2.1 billion with Swedish vendor Ericsson, according to the report.
The report also noted that HSBC, JP Morgan and Citigroup are among several global banks that are backing Reliance Jio Infocomm to finance these 5G equipment deals with Nokia and Ericsson via syndicated offshore loans.
Also, European export credit agency Finnvera will be issuing the required guarantees to the global lenders for extending the offshore loans to Jio, the report added.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has been rapidly expanding its 5G network using Standalone (SA) architecture since October 2022 and has the goal of reaching nationwide coverage with its 5G network by the end of 2023. (Nokia had announced in October 2022 that it had won a multi-year supplier agreement with Reliance Jio.)
Reliance Jio had previously secured a mix of wireless spectrum for 5G across 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands. Jio is the only Indian operator with the 700 MHz low-band spectrum.
The telco has already deployed its 5G service in 6,083 cities across 36 states in India, according to the carrier’s website.
Meanwhile, rival operator Bharti Airtel has already deployed 5G across thousands of towns and cities across India. Airtel has opted for Non-Standalone technology (NSA) for its 5G rollout.
Vodafone Idea recently confirmed “advanced talks” with a number of vendors in order to define its final strategy for the deployment of 5G in India. In the carrier’s annual report, the telco also said it has concluded device testing of all major OEMs on its upcoming 5G mobile broadband network. The company has partnered with various OEMs to test the compatibility of available 5G handsets in 5G clusters in the cities of Delhi and Pune.
Vodafone previously said it was negotiating loans with local banks in order to secure the necessary funds to launch 5G.
