Idea Cellular entered into an agreement with the Swedish communication company Ericsson on Wednesday to deploy 4G LTE network in India. The contract covers equipment and software, along with professional services, including project management, systems integration and supervisory managed services for 4GLTE across select circles over a period of two years.
Idea, with its new partnership, will deploy LTE services in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, the North-East and Himachal Pradesh, to serve over 40 million subscribers. Ericsson will transform Idea's existing 2G and 3G networks, and install its multi-standard RBS 6000 radio base station, which supports all bandwidths (GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE) in a single cabinet.
"We are committed to offering our customers the best possible mobile experience," Himanshu Kapania, CEO, Idea Cellular, said in a statement, according to Gadgets360. "Transforming our 2G and 3G network will enable us to offer optimised mobile data and better smartphone performance, while our LTE deployments will take the customer experience on Idea Cellular's networks to the next level."
As a result of this deal, Idea subscribers will be able to enjoy enhanced broadband services on their mobile devices, including faster browsing and better smartphone performance.
Idea Cellular is the third largest mobile carrier in India and it has 170 million subscribers. The operator's 4G LTE services are live in eight telecom circles, including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, MP and Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana and Odisha. Idea is extensively planning to expand to 750 towns across 10 circles by June 2016.
Ericsson has a wide coverage on the LTE front, with its services operational in the US, Japan and South Korea. It handles 40 percent of the global LTE mobile traffic, which is the world's largest network, The Hindu reported.
"The latest Ericsson Mobility Report shows that India added more mobile subscriptions than any other region in Q3 2015. These subscribers are increasingly demanding better network quality and superior services," Paolo Colella, head of region India, Ericsson, said in a statement.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
