Nokia revealed on Saturday details of last week’s billion-dollar network contract win with Indian telco Vodafone Idea to modernise and expand its 4G network – to include 5G upgrades – over the next three years.
Under the deal, Nokia will deploy equipment from its 5G AirScale portfolio, including base stations, baseband units, and its latest generation of Habrok massive MIMO radios. Nokia added that the 5G AirScale equipment is powered by Nokia’s energy-efficient ReefShark system-on-chip technology.
Nokia will also modernize Vodafone Idea’s existing 4G network with multiband radios and baseband equipment that can also support 5G.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea will also leverage Nokia’s network optimization and automation platform, MantaRay SON, which uses self-configuring modules to boost network performance and efficiency. Nokia will also provide planning, deployment, integration, and network optimization services under the contract.
“We are committed to providing a best-in-class 4G and 5G experience to our customers and this new deal with Nokia, who has been our partner since the beginning, will help us to deliver that,” said Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra in a statement.
The Nokia deal is part of the three-year US$3.6 billon megadeal announced last week by Vodafone Idea, which also includes Ericsson and Samsung.
Vodafone Idea didn’t break down the numbers per vendor, and Nokia didn’t provide financial details of the contract in its announcement on Saturday. However, a report from the Economic Times newspaper on Saturday claims the Nokia deal is worth INR135 billion (US$1.6 billion).
