Nokia has announced that it would deploy a next-generation optical transport network (OTN) that will provide telecom operator Airtel with additional capacity, and increased reliability, while cutting costs. Operators have been working to increase their network capacity as they continue to roll out 5G network services across the country. The agreement between the two firms will see Bharti Airtel replace its legacy transport switching infrastructure with Nokia’s hardware across its network that connects different cities in the country, according to the Finnish telecommunications provider.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, Nokia announced the details of its agreement with Airtel stating that the telecom provider would use Nokia 1830 PSS-x P-OTN switches to replace its older transport switching infrastructure. The new hardware from Nokia will be used across Airtel’s national long-distance network that the telecom provider uses across major Indian cities.

The company’s high-capacity OTN switches will help Bharti Airtel increase overall transport capacity and optimise bandwidth efficiency, according to Nokia. Telecom service providers can also benefit from using the L-band wavelengths of optic fibre networks, effectively utilising additional spectrum, the firm said in its press release.

Nokia also cites the increased demand faced by telecom and broadband service providers as a reason for these firms to provide denser 5G networks by supplementing their backhaul transport. Doing so will also allow them to provide connectivity for data centre interconnect (DCI), smart grids, and other emerging business services, according to the firm.

“Our technology will help Airtel to increase the capacity and features of Bharti’s optical transport network to meet growing bandwidth demand driven by the enterprise and hyperscaler segments. It will also provide the service level performance to meet the strict SLAs from Airtel customers,” Chandan Kumar, Head of Optical Network Business Centre for Nokia India said in a prepared statement.