Airtel picks Mavenir for openRAN

Bharti Airtel has taken initial steps towards deploying OpenRAN tech for its telecom network, contracting US-based Mavenir to deploy 4G and 5G sites in the low-revenue generating rural parts of the country in a bid to lower its capex.

It initially plans to deploy 2,500 sites on OpenRAN and scale it to 10,000 over time, people familiar with the matter said. According to industry estimates, 10,000 sites could cost a telco $120-180 million.

OpenRAN allowing tech products from different suppliers to co-exist with various software providers.