Ericsson and ZTE ink managed services deals with Aircel

Chinese hardware vendor ZTE has reportedly been handed a managed services contract by Indian mobile network operator Aircel, according to Light Reading India. Citing an unnamed source at the cellco, the report claims that ZTE has been selected to provide managed services for Aircel in three circles, although no financial details of the agreement have been disclosed. Sweden’s Ericsson has meanwhile bagged deals to provide similar services in six of the country’s eastern telecoms circles, with Amarjeet Singh, vice president and customer unit head at (Aircel) Ericsson, noting: ‘Aircel had an existing operations and maintenance contract for six circles with Ericsson that got transformed into a complete Managed Services deal.’ The circles covered by the Ericsson-Aircel deal are understood to be: Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir. Further, according to the report Aircel remains in negotiations with two further vendors – Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks – regarding deals for other circles.