Aircel Awarded Contracts to ZTE & Nokia Siemens Network

Mobile service provider Aircel on 8 Dec 2010 awarded contracts to Chinese telecom gearmaker ZTE Corporation and Nokia Siemens Network to deploy its third-generation (3G) network in India. ZTE received the contract worth $85 million to build and deploy a pan India 3G network. ZTE has been Aircel’s long-term partner and supplier of GSM networks. ZTE will be responsible for Aircel’s 2G network upgrade as well as implementing the new 3G network and subsequent upgrades.

Nokia Siemens Networks won the contract to supply, deploy and manage Aircel’s 3G network in circles of Punjab, Kolkata and rest of West Bengal. Nokia Siemens Network manages Aircel’s GSM network in six circles of the country. Nokia Siemens Networks will operate and manage Aircels 3G network for four years under a managed services contract. It will also shoulder the responsibility to provide future-proof mobile packet backbone network, security solutions and its multi-vendor network management and optimisation software, NetAct.

Aircel is the Indian subsidiary of Malaysias Maxis Group and is currently the fifth largest Indian telecommunication company with over 48 million subscribers. Aircel bagged 3G spectrum in 13 of the 22 telecom circles for about Rs 6500 crore in government auctions.