New Delhi, February 26, 2024: In a significant stride towards enhancing its 5G capabilities, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has completed deploying 100,000 Massive MIMO 5G radios for Bharti Airtel across 12 circles in India.
The deployment, which underscores Ericsson and Airtel’s shared commitment to innovation and service excellence, leverages Ericsson’s energy-efficient Radio System products and solutions from its 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and MINI-LINK (microwave) mobile transport portfolios.
Nunzio Mirtillo, Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area Southeast Asia, Oceania & India at Ericsson, expressed his satisfaction with the accomplishment, stating, “The successful deployment of 100,000 Ericsson 5G radios demonstrates our shared commitment to innovation, speed, and service quality. We remain dedicated to supporting Airtel in delivering a superior 5G experience to customers across India.”
Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer at Bharti Airtel, hailed Ericsson as a longstanding partner and expressed delight in achieving the milestone of deploying 100,000 5G radios across 12 Airtel circles. Sekhon highlighted the impact of this deployment, noting, “We have over 65 million customers on our network who are now enjoying blazing fast unlimited 5G data at no additional cost.”
Beyond deployment, the partnership between Airtel and Ericsson extends to co-creation and innovation. In October 2023, the two companies announced the successful testing of Ericsson’s pre-commercial Reduced Capability (RedCap) software on Airtel’s 5G network. This testing, conducted in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., marked the first implementation and validation of RedCap in India, showcasing a commitment to advancing 5G technologies.
With Airtel already boasting over 65 million unique 5G customers on its network since the launch of 5G in India, the Airtel 5G plus service is now accessible across districts nationwide and is set to cover the entire country by March 2024.