Vodafone Idea chooses Nokia as major 4G and 5G partner in India

Nokia has secured a three-year deal with Vodafone Idea to deploy 4G and 5G equipment in India. With this, the Finnish telecom gear maker will emerge as the largest 4G and 5G supplier to the telecom service provider.

The contract includes the modernization and expansion of VIL’s 4G network of which Nokia is already a major supplier. The deployment will deliver premium connectivity to 200 million VIL customers.

Nokia will increase its market share and replace the incumbent vendor in Chennai and Andhra Pradesh, making it the largest supplier covering circles that generate more than 50% of VIL's revenue. The deployment will begin immediately.

The agreement will see Nokia deploy equipment from its comprehensive, industry-leading 5G AirScale portfolio, powered by its energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology. This includes base stations, baseband units, and its latest generation of Habrok Massive MIMO radios.

These are designed for easy deployment and will deliver premium 5G capacity and coverage, said Nokia, as it will also modernize VIL's existing 4G network with multiband radios and baseband equipment, which can also support 5G.

VIL will also benefit from Nokia’s industry-leading network optimization and automation platform, MantaRay SON. This uses self-configuring modules to boost network performance and efficiency and can be tailored and deployed to optimize specific software applications to address unique operational challenges.

Nokia will also provide planning, deployment, integration, and network optimization services. The equipment maker is a long-term partner of VIL and has supported them with the deployment of its 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 5G networks.

Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said, “We are committed to providing a best-in-class 4G and 5G experience to our customers and this new deal with Nokia, who has been our partner since the beginning, will help us to deliver that. 5G will bring seamless high-speed connectivity and increased capacity supporting citizens and enterprises alike. This will also enable unprecedented levels of innovation and efficiency across various sectors, empowering organizations to thrive in today's fast-paced digital landscape.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said, “Nokia is proud to be Vodafone Idea’s partner in the next stage of its network evolution. This is a continuation of our long-term partnership that has lasted for over three decades and highlights their trust in our technology portfolio. They will benefit from the very latest products and innovations from our industry-leading, energy-efficient AirScale portfolio that will bring premium quality capacity and connectivity to their customers. We look forward to working with Vodafone Idea on this exciting deployment.”