Bharti Airtel Signs USD 150 million Managed Network deal with Huawei

Bangalore, September 20, 2007: In its endeavour to offer world-class mobile services and products to customers in Sri Lanka, Bharti Airtel Lanka Private Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, one of Asia’s leading integrated telecom services companies, today announced that it has signed a managed networks deal for its Sri Lanka operations with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (“Huawei”), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world. The three-year deal is valued at approximately USD 150 Million and includes telecom applications and software. With the network deal in place, customers in Sri Lanka can look forward to a host of innovative products and services at an affordable price from Airtel’s vast portfolio.

The latest custom-built technology from Huawei is expected to reduce Bharti Airtel’s total cost of ownership (TCO), as well as enhance its competitive edge. Specifically, Huawei‘s Distributed Node B will enable Bharti to deploy the network faster and more cost-effectively.

Bharti Airtel, rated among the best performing companies in the world in the BusinessWeek IT 100 list 2007, was recently awarded the license to provide 2G and 3G mobile services in Sri Lanka. Under the agreement, Huawei will deploy and manage Airtel’s core network, Node-Bs and BTSs and comprehensive end-to-end 2G/3G network solutions.

According to Mr. Sanjay Nandrajog, Executive Director, International Operations & Managed Services, Bharti Airtel, “Bharti Airtel is committed to creating a state-of-the-art mobile network and offering world-class and affordable 2G and 3G services to customers in Sri Lanka. Huawei has established credentials as a global company producing high quality products and solutions. We are delighted to be partnering Huawei in this endeavour of ours. ”

Mr. Max Yang, CEO, Huawei India said, “We are extremely proud and happy to partner with Bharti Airtel who pioneered the telecom revolution in India and continues to contribute immensely to the remarkable growth of the telecom sector. We look forward to continuing this strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel by providing innovative and customer-oriented solutions and services including wireless solutions.”



About Bharti Airtel Limited:
Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is Asia’s leading integrated telecom services provider with an aggregate of 46.76 million customers as of end of July 2007, consisting of 44.76 million mobile customers. Bharti Airtel has been rated among the best performing companies in the world in the BusinessWeek IT 100 list 2007.

Bharti Airtel is structured into three strategic business units - Mobile services, Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services and Enterprise services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles. The B&T business provides broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel’s high-speed optic fibre network currently spans over 40,000 kms covering all the major cities in the country. The company has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE-4 to Europe. For more information, visit www.bhartiairtel.in

About Huawei Technologies:
Huawei Technologies is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world. The company is dedicated to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and potential growth for its customers. Huawei’s products and solutions are deployed in over 100 countries and serve 31 of the world’s top 50 operators, as well as over one billion users worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.huawei.com.