Bharti Airtel Ltd.

Telecom equipment-maker Ericsson has signed a five-year deal to provide managed services for Bharti Airtel's India operations for an undisclosed amount. Under the five-year, multi-vendor, multi-technology managed services agreement, Ericsson will operate, maintain and provide services across 15 of Bharti Airtel's networks in India. In addition, Ericsson will also take responsibility for the intelligent network that manages Bharti Airtel's pre-paid customer base. This partnership will help Airtel focus on creating a compelling service proposition for customers as it looks at ramping up its market access for next generation services on 3G and 4G. The two companies had inked a five-year managed services contract in July this year for the Africa operations of Bharti Airtel. The 15 telecom circles under the scope of the partnership include Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West and UP East, Rajasthan, the North Eastern states, Assam, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chennai and Kerala.