Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa has announced an agreement with Huawei, a leader in next-generation telecommunications network solutions, to modernize and expand Airtel’s 2G & 3G network infrastructure in Africa. As per the agreement, Huawei would be responsible for designing, planning, modernization and expansion of Bharti Airtel’s networks, as well as managing operations and maintenance. A statement from Bharti Airtel said the partnership with Huawei would enable Airtel Africa to channel its resources and expertise to its core areas of product innovation, value added services, marketing, branding and pricing, while simultaneously providing world class mobile services by leveraging Huawei’s world class expertise in network management. It said under the terms of the agreement, Huawei would deploy its complete GSM and 3G product portfolio including BTS 3900 multi-standard radio base stations working with GSM and HSPA technologies, which would further be equipped and prepared for Long Term Evolution (LTE). The statement said “this innovative Managed Capacity Manager Service (MCMS) business model, pioneered by Airtel eight years ago in India, will enhance the customer experience through improved voice quality and extended coverage into under-penetrated areas.” It said the agreement would also enable Airtel Africa to rapidly expand its mobile services and mobile broadband footprint in the region. CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director of Bharti Airtel Manoj Kohli announced the agreement saying “the partnership with Huawei takes us one step closer to realizing our vision of making affordable and world-class telecom services available to Africa.” He said the partnership would allow Airtel to focus on delivering better customer experience as it leveraged the global network management expertise of Huawei. “It also lays the foundation for the introduction of 3G HSPA wireless broadband services - we firmly believe that mobile broadband is a major catalyst for economic growth and development, and with this partnership we will be able to offer world-class and affordable voice & internet experience to our customers while contributing to the economic growth in Africa,” Kohli said. Mr. Kohli noted that the next-generation state-of-the-art network would deliver an extended range of services focused on user-centric broadband applications, saying that in line with global trends, Africa was experiencing a surge in demand for access to mobile data applications. He observed the modernization and optimization of networks would give Bharti Airtel an opportunity to lower its operating expenditure and roll-out innovative and exciting customer centric products & services at affordable prices. The statement also quoted Chairperson of Huawei Board, Sun Yafang as saying “Bharti Airtel is a great operator with tremendous potential and high business value.” She said Huawei understood Airtel’s strategic requirements and would match their fast development to achieve a win-win business success between both parties. “As a leading Telecom solutions vendor, Huawei has substantial experience over the years to provide state-of-the-art technologies and services to top operators in the world - we believe our innovative technologies as well as strong delivery capability will bring Bharti Airtel’s customers a better user experience and value proposition,” she said. Source: Adom News/Ghana