Airtel awards multi-year nationwide managed services deal to Ericsson

Bharti Airtel has signed a multi-year Network Operations Center (NOC) Managed Services contract with Ericsson, deepening its strategic alliance with the Swedish telecom gear maker and reinforcing their shared push toward 5G transformation in India.

Coming close on the heels of their collaboration on Airtel’s 5G Core, the new agreement will see Ericsson manage Airtel’s pan-India network through its centralized NOC. The partnership covers operations across 4G, 5G NSA, 5G SA, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), Private Networks, and Network Slicing — with a strong focus on intent-based operations and service diversification.

“We are excited to enhance our strong collaboration with Ericsson as we pursue our goal of creating a future-ready network that delivers an exceptional experience for our customers. We believe that these innovative technologies will empower us to meet the growing data demands of consumers in a digitally connected India,” said Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel.

Ericsson is also supporting Airtel's 4G and 5G network expansion, having bagged a multi-billion expansion contract in December 2024.