Ericsson to manage Vodafone's OFC network in India

Vodafone India has selected Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson to manage its 45,000 km optical fibre cable network, spread across 10 telecom circles, for a 3-year period.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

"The new agreement covers operations and maintenance of Vodafone's optical fibre network across East and West India, spanning a distance of approximately 45,000 kilometers," Ericsson said in a statement.

Ericsson said it has more than 15 years' experience in managing multivendor, multi-technology networks for operators globally, including India.

"We have selected Ericsson as a partner to manage our optical fibre cable network given Ericsson's strength and experience in managing multi-vendor, multi-technology networks for operators globally and in India", Vishant Vora, CTO of Vodafone India said.

Vodafone has recently been expanding its own 3G services to many new circles and also launched 4G-LTE services in 5 circles in India.

"This managed services agreement in India strengthens that partnership in a very important market and complements our collaborations in other parts of the world", Paolo Colella, India Head, Ericsson said.

Ericsson said with addition of Vodafone's optical fibre, it will manage a total of 2,225,000 kilometers of fibre in India.