On Wednesday, Bharti Airtel said it had awarded its first 5G contract in the country to Ericsson, with deployments to begin in August 2022.

Ericsson has been Airtel’s long-term connectivity partner, and pan-India managed service provider for over 25 years, covering every generation of mobile communications. The latest 5G partnership comes after India’s 5G spectrum auction ended on July 26.

Airtel will deploy energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from Ericsson Radio Systems and Ericsson Microwave Mobile Transport Solutions. Ericsson will provide Bharti Airtel with 12 laps of 5G connectivity.

In addition to enhancing the user experience for Airtel customers – spanning ultra-high speed, low latency and big data processing capabilities – Ericsson’s 5G network products and solutions will enable Bharti Airtel to pursue new and innovative use cases with its enterprise and industry customers.

With 125 live networks in 55 countries to date and 50% of global 5G traffic outside of China now carried over Ericsson’s radio network, the company is at the forefront of 5G globally.