Idea, Ericsson Partner for 4G Services in India

Idea Cellular on Wednesday announced an agreement with Swedish communication technology multinational Ericsson to deploy 4G network across select Indian telecom circles which serve over 40 million subscribers.

The agreement includes the transformation of Idea Cellular's existing mobile radio access and core network infrastructure across nine circles for 2G and five circles for 3G - enabling Idea Cellular to deliver superior mobile broadband experiences including faster mobile data speeds and better smartphone performance to its subscribers, the company said in a statement.

"We are committed to offering our customers the best possible mobile experience. Transforming our 2G and 3G network will enable us to offer optimised mobile data and better smartphone performance, while our LTE deployments will take the customer experience on Idea Cellular's networks to the next level," said Himanshu Kapania, CEO, Idea Cellular.

The contract covers equipment, software and a range of professional services, including project management, systems integration and supervisory managed services for 4G/LTE across select circles for a period of two years.

For this, Ericsson will install its multi-standard RBS 6000 radio base station, which supports GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE in a single cabinet and upgrade core network and operations support systems (OSS).

"Ericsson's technology and services leadership will enable Idea Cellular to transform their 2G and 3G networks and to roll out an LTE network that delivers superior broadband experiences," added Paolo Colella, head of region India, Ericsson.

For licensing purposes, the Indian telecom market is divided into 22 geographical zones, referred to as circles.