Indian startup Unitech Wireless has reportedly awarded Ericsson a $500 million contract to roll out and manage its networks in three telecom circles.
Ericsson will manage the operator\'s networks in the circles of Bihar and Eastern and Western Uttar Pradesh for at least five years, the Economic Timesreported.
Unitech Wireless is believed to have recently awarded similar contracts worth $150 million to Alcatel-Lucent for two circles, and $225 million to Huawei for a further three circles. Unitech has also signed a tower-sharing arrangement with Tata Teleservices.
However, it will miss its self-imposed July launch deadline. "We have tied up for towers and equipment. But our marketing and distribution set up is still not in place," chairman Sanjay Chandra told the ET.
Unitech Wireless is 67%-owned by Norwegian operator Telenor, and has licenses to operate in all 22 of the nation\'s telecom circles.