Ericsson announced a new five-year contract to manage Bharti Airtel's networks in Africa. Under a separate two-year agreement, Ericsson will upgrade Airtel's networks in Africa, deploying its RBS 6000 base station for GSM and HSPA services. As part of the upgrade, Ericsson will also provide technology consulting, network planning & design and network deployment. Ericsson already provides managed services for Airtel in its south Asia operations. This is Ericsson's first multi-country deal in Africa. Airtel has over 44 million customers in Africa, across 16 countries. Further details of the contracts were not released.
