To match up the 4G LTE only network provider Reliance Jio, India’s second largest telecom operator Vodafone India is investing heavily in strengthening its 4G LTE network. The operator has now awarded a contract to telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson to deploy 4G LTE network in its five telecom circles.
The contract to Ericsson is worth around Rs 2,040 crore or $300 million, reports The Economic Times. Under the contract, Ericsson will be in charge to deploy Vodafone India’s 4G LTE service across this five telecom circles. The telecom circles covered under the contract includes Utter Pradesh West, Rajasthan, Odisha, North East and Assam.
“The deployment includes Ericsson’s full radio system portfolio that offers 50 percent improved energy efficiency,” said the media report. The 4G LTE service will be available for commercial launch by the third quarter of 2017.
Ericsson recently grabbed a 500 million deal from India’ top telecom operator Airtel. Under the three-year contract, the company will be managing Airtel’s 4G LTE, 3G and 2G networks covering all 22 telecom circles across the country. They are also responsible for field maintenance, network operations, network optimization and passive maintenance of Airtel-owned sites.
Earlier Vodafone India has awarded similar contracts to Nokia and Huawei. These contracts covered the operator’s various telecom circles, which include Kerala, Karnataka, and Delhi.
Vodafone has recently launched 4G in Goa and Chennai which followed the successful rollout of 4G services in thirteen other telecom circles. This includes Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Kolkata, Delhi & NCR, Mumbai, Haryana, UP East, Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Assam & North East circles. The operator plans to roll out its 4G services in Punjab, and UP West by mid-2017. By March 2017 the operator expects to cover over 2400 towns across its 17 telecom circles.