Ericsson to manage Airtel's Africa networks

By James Anyanzwa

Airtel has announced a five-year management agreement with Ericsson for its Africa operations.

As per the agreement, Ericsson will manage and optimise the Indian-owned Bharti Airtel’s mobile networks in Africa to provide a superior customer experience.

Under a separate two-year agreement, Ericsson will modernise and upgrade Airtel’s mobile networks with the latest technology, including its multi-standard RBS 6000 base station.

Enhanced Experience

Ericsson will also deploy this 2G and HSPA 3G technology to ensure that Airtel’s customers have an enhanced voice and data experience.

In a statement yesterday, Manoj Kohli, chief executive (International) and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said Ericsson would also provide technology consulting, network planning and design and network deployment as part of the modernisation process.

Track Record

 “Ericsson has been our managed services and network technology partner in the Asian operations. Given its expertise and strong track record, we are confident this partnership will be able to deliver the best networks and services to our customers in Africa.

The new generation equipment from Ericsson will help reduce our total cost of ownership of the networks,” he said.

Ericsson’s first multi-country managed services deal in Africa will enable Airtel focus on its core operations of innovating and launching new products, services and mobile applications for over 44 million customers across the continent.

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, said the firm is the industry leader in managed services, managing networks for operators worldwide that serve more than 800 million subscribers.

“This deal will allow us to assist Airtel with the complex task of managing operations in multiple countries. It also provides an opportunity for us to extend our managed services into new, untapped African markets. We will use our global expertise in this field to provide Airtel’s customers with excellent service,” said Vestberg.