Idea in GSM expansion deal with Ericsson

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Idea Cellular has signed a three-year contract with Swedish equipment giant Ericsson for GSM expansion in the Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh telecom circles. Ericsson will provide radio access, microwave transmission and next-generation, mobile softswitch network architecture, between February 07 and November 09.

Officials of the two companies refused to divulge the size of the contract.The network by Ericsson will enable Idea to make a smooth transition to a 3G-ready network after 3G-spectrum allocation is finalised. Sanjeev Aga, MD, Idea said: "The expansion prepares us well for the switch to a 3G-ready network when the time is right."

Idea plans to have around 160 cell sites in the Himachal Pradesh Circle, 885 cell sites in the Rajasthan Circle, and 1,137 cell sites in the Uttar Pradesh (East) Circle by March 08.

Ericsson is Idea's principal supplier in the five circles while Nokia is for Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana Circles. Siemens caters to Idea's requirements in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) circles. These vendors also provide maintenance support for mobile networks.

Ericsson India MD Mats Granryd said: “Idea’s expansion in the five circles will include remote rural areas, which present unique challenges. We have been partners with Idea since it started operations in India, and we are happy to be taking this partnership to a new level of commitment.”

Recently, Ericsson's global president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg told ET that the company was in talks with Indian operators to extend the managed capacity and managed services (MCMS) model (also called the Bharti model) of outsourcing, where it will expand the infrastructure, upgrade the GSM and GPRS networks and also provide managed services to the service provider. “The managed services model — the way we have with Bharti, we want to extend it to other operators. There is an increasing interest on this model from operators, both in India and globally as well,” Mr Svanberg said.

Last year, Bharti had signed a $1-billion contract with Ericsson towards design, planning, supply, installation, commissioning and upgrading of Airtel network in 15 telecom circles.