Bharti Airtel has contracted Nokia Networks to enhance its 3G network in three of India's 22 telecom circles.
Under the deal, Nokia will expand Airtel's 3G network in Mumbai, West Bengal and Bihar.
The deployment will include India's first dual-carrier 3G network implementation for the Mumbai region, refarming existing 900-MHz spectrum too complement the 2100-MHz 3G network.
Airtel will adopt Nokia's Single RAN platform to support its existing TD-LTE network and pave the way for an FDD-LTE rollout in the future.
“With Indian subscribers increasingly looking for high-speed mobile broadband services, 3G is a very important technology option that operators in India need to embrace to fulfil the demands of their subscribers,” Analysys Mason partner and head of India and South Asia Abhay Savargaonkar said.
“Expanding 3G networks as in this deal, and upgrading the existing 2G networks to 3G across the country by operators will allow subscribers to enjoy rich multi-media applications and services.”
Airtel recently reported a 170% increase in second quarter profit to 13.83 billion rupees ($224.6 million), and revealed that it's 4G rollout has expanded to 15 cities.