Vodafone Idea inks network deal worth ₹14K cr with Ericsson

Kolkata: Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Monday inked a deal worth around ₹14,000 crore with Sweden's Ericsson to buy equipment over a three-year span for its 4G network expansion and 5G roll out.

Under the new contract, Ericsson will supply 4G and 5G base stations to Vi in 10 markets - Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Northeast, Assam, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh - company insiders said.

ET had reported about the upcoming Vi-Ericsson deal in its October 1 edition.

"Ericsson will upgrade 4G and deploy 5G across the Indian telecom circles it already powers for Vi. In addition, it will provide 4G and 5G services in the telecom circles of Delhi, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, thereby increasing its footprint and market share with Vi substantially," the Swedish gear maker said in a statement Monday.

ET's queries to Vi and Ericsson on the deal size remained unanswered until press time.

The latest contract with Ericsson is part of Vi's recently announced plans to buy $3.6 billion (read: ₹30,000 crore) of 4G and 5G equipment from Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung over a three-year span to bolster its 4G operations and roll out 5G networks in key cities across its 17 priority circles. The move marked a significant step from Vi to improve its competitiveness in the market against bigger rivals, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, and also stem customer losses.

Last month, Vi had closed its first 4G-cum-5G gear procurement deal with Finland's Nokia and Monday's deal with Ericsson is the second contract. Insiders said that over the past few weeks Ericsson and South Korea's Samsung were locked in a fierce duel that resulted in the Swedish vendor bagging the plum 4G/5G gear supply contract from Vi for Delhi. The specific Vi-Samsung equipment deal is yet to be announced.

Vi's CEO Akshaya Moondra said collaborating with Ericsson would enable the telco to modernise its 4G network and rapidly deploy a world-class 5G network. "5G deployment will enable us to seamlessly manage growing data traffic on the Vi network, provide secure and reliable connectivity while enhancing the customer experience from the network."

Under the contract, the Swedish networks vendor will deploy its energy-efficient and lightweight Ericsson Radio System products such as mid-band Massive MIMO antenna-integrated radios to ensure best-in-class network performance in the Vi network.

"With Ericsson's advanced technology, we aim to empower Vi to deliver fast, reliable, and scalable 5G services for its customers," Andres Vicente, Ericsson's head of market area Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, said in a statement.

Vi's chief technology officer (CTO) Jagbir Singh said Ericsson's products and solutions are designed to maximise network performance and benefit of 4G and 5G for the telco's end-customers.