BARCELONA: Bharti Airtel has joined with China Mobile, for jointly sourcing devices and equipment as well as developing 4G technology and standards, a development which will help India’s biggest telecom operator take on Reliance Jio Infocomm.
“We are jointly working on a sub-$100 device which will support all bands of spectrum, and is likely to be out in the markets next year,” Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal told ETin Barcelona, a few hours after signing an agreement with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua. “We will do joint procurement. Carrier aggregation helps when you talk to vendors and suppliers,” said Mittal.
“Equally, all vendors will know that we have aligned our standards and are supporting the same ecosystem. This partnership will provide a major platform for development and deployment of 4G and future mobile technology standards,” said Mittal, adding that India and China account for nearly a third of all the mobile subscribers globally.
