Nokia and Bharti Airtel’s first trial of 5G non-standalone technology in India achieved over 1.2 Gbps data throughput on Airtel’s commercial network. The trial used the 3.5 GHz spectrum for 5G, leveraging Nokia’s RAN software and advanced virtualization.
Airties, a global leader of managed Wi-Fi solutions for broadband service providers, today announced it has opened its first office in India – a new R&D center based in Bangalore, focused on enhancing the AI, cloud, and DevOps capabilities of Airties for use in Smart Wi-Fi deployments. The new center in India aims to employ around 100 specialized software engineers focused on further extending the capabilities of Airties Cloud management platform.
In a strategic move to meet the escalating demands of the 5G era and burgeoning broadband connectivity in India, Nokia has joined forces with Bharti Airtel for a significant overhaul of the optical network infrastructure. The project aims to deliver ‘massive capacity,’ enhanced reliability, and cost efficiency for enterprises, operators, and hyperscalers in the region.
The Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has selected Nokia’s CloudBand-based software products to power its Voice over LTE (VoLTE) network. Nokia stated that this network supports more than 110 million customers, making it the largest cloud-based VoLTE network in India and the world’s largest VoLTE service managed by Nokia. According to the Finnish telecom gear maker, the deployment of cloud-based VoLTE will enable Airtel to provide its mobile customers with faster, more reliable and cost-effective call connectivity. Nokia’s solution, which has been deployed to cover all 22 telecom service areas in India, uses commercial, off-the-shelf IT hardware with cloud-based Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). Nokia noted that cloud-native VNFs consume far less power and space compared to traditional 2G or 3G circuit-switched legacy cores. With Nokia’s VoLTE platform, Airtel will be able to reduce its 3G network traffic and use the freed-up spectrum to deploy 4G / LTE services for higher speeds…
Nokia and Bharti Airtel have teamed up to offer developers in India a seamless integration of network capabilities via the Network as Code platform. This strategic move provides access to Airtel’s network APIs, enhancing VoIP capabilities with AI, 5G, and edge computing. This collaboration empowers innovation and creates new revenue channels in telecommunications.
Airtel’s digital arm Xtelify has unveiled a cloud and AI platform designed for telecoms and enterprises. Hosted in India, it cuts costs and boosts performance while supporting data sovereignty.
Google will invest six billion dollars to build Asia’s largest data center in Visakhapatnam, India. Two billion dollars will fund renewable energy infrastructure. This marks a major step in Google’s regional expansion and supports India’s growing digital ecosystem.
Vodafone Idea is advancing India’s telecom infrastructure by expanding its 5G network to 23 more cities, including Ahmedabad and Jaipur. This strategic rollout leverages AI-driven Self-Organising Networks for optimized performance. By partnering with Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung, Vodafone Idea ensures robust 5G coverage.
Ericsson has landed a significant contract with Bharti Airtel to manage its nationwide 4G and 5G network services in India through a centralized network operations center. This multi-year partnership will leverage AI-driven automation to efficiently manage 5G infrastructures, including non-standalone and standalone networks.
Starlink has secured approval to provide satellite broadband in India, entering a competitive field with Airtel and Jio. Backed by a key license, it must meet strict local data and infrastructure rules before launch. With trial spectrum rights expected soon, Starlink prepares to help bridge connectivity gaps in underserved regions.
