Airtel renews 4G, 5G contracts with Nokia

Bharti Airtel has awarded a multi-billion deal to Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia for extension of 4G and 5G contracts, the companies said on Wednesday.

"As per the contract, Nokia will deploy equipment from its cutting-edge 5G AirScale portfolio including base stations, baseband units and the latest generation of Massive MIMO radios, all powered by its energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology," Bharti Airtel said in a statement. ET had reported last month that the telcohad likely finalised renewals worth $1.2 billion (about ₹10,000 crore) with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung and placed purchase orders for new 4G and 5G equipment.

Bharti Airtel shares had closed 0.76% lower at ₹1,525.95 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday. The stock markets were closed on Wednesday.


In a bid to stem subscriber losses to larger rival Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel is aiming to strengthen its 4G and 5G networks and also upgrade feature phone users in key circles.