Idea Cellular to deploy optical transport solution from Nokia
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Idea Cellular to deploy optical transport solution from Nokia

Indian mobile operator Idea Cellular will deploy Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Services Switch (PSS) based Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) solution to meet growing demand for bandwidth.

Nokia’s scalable optical transport technology will allow Idea to enhance coverage and capacity in fibre-constrained areas, offering high-bandwidth services to customers.

The solution acts as an alternative to fibre, creating a new access layer for operators while ensuring scalability and optimised power consumption.

Nitin Dahiya, head of customer team - Idea, at Nokia, said: "Through a combination of new operator offerings, aggressive data plans and continued mass adoption of smartphones, India has witnessed unprecedented data usage growth since the beginning of 2017. 

“We are delighted to be working with Idea to deploy an optical transport network that will help address the high-bandwidth data demands of its customers. It's an important collaboration for us, and we look forward to working closely with Idea as a key technology partner in this new chapter."

It comes as idea is looking to expand its capacity to deal with growing demand across India, despite pressures on revenues across the Indian mobile market following the launch of Reliance Jio last year.

Idea is currently going through the regulatory checks for its merger with Vodafone’s Indian unit in a deal which will create new market leader in the country.

Anil Tandan, chief technology officer, at Idea Cellular, said: "With the roll-out of Idea's pan-India wireless broadband network in the last one year, we have witnessed massive data growth leading to high bandwidth demand. 

“We have a long standing partnership with Nokia and we are confident that Nokia will bring the same expertise and commitment in deploying optical network as it does in Radio, Core and IP domains. This collaboration marks a new phase in our relationship, and we look forward to leveraging Nokia's strength in optical network domain to meet our requirement."

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