Airtel, Opera enter global pact

Under the pact, Airtel will offer co-branded Opera Mini browsers to its customers across India and South Asia, the companies said in a joint statement today.

"We are excited to bring a superior browsing platform to Airtel mobile customers across India and South Asia by leveraging Opera Mini's tried-and-tested set of solutions," Bharti Airtel President - Consumer Business K Srinivas said.

Airtel, the nation's largest private-sector telecom player, has over 253 million customers across countries, including India, South Asia and Africa. Airtel in India charges Rs 98 in month for 1 gigabit of data downloaded through its mobile internet facility on 2G network and Rs 45 for 150 MB to Rs 1,500 for 10 Gigabit (GB) on 3G network.

Opera Mini's unique proxy-server-based technology can compress data by up to 90% and decrease user's data transfer costs, the statement said.

"Our primary drive is to provide the best user experience, no matter what device people use. There are millions of users with basic mobile phones instead of smartphones, and Opera Mini gives even the most basic phone a smartphone-like web experience," Opera Software CEO Lars Boilesen said.

Opera Software has agreements with 13 out of the top 30 operators globally and its Opera Mini browser is used by over 168 million users, the statement added.