Aircel Signs Tower Sharing Deal with BSNL

­India's Aircel has announced a 10-year passive infrastructure sharing agreement with state owned operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Aircel, which already has around 32,000 base stations, says that it will now have access to approximately 45,000 BSNL towers across all its licensed circles.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL's 21 circles (excluding Mumbai and Delhi). Leveraging BSNL's passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost," Aircel Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh said in a statement.

Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL added, "We are happy to partner with Aircel. BSNL has a strong nationwide coverage and offers the best value proposition in the Indian telecom market. Our objective is to provide quality and reliable service and thereby increase our partner's confidence".

Figures from the Mobile World analysts report that Aircel had just under 22 million active subscribers at the end of June.

Aircel is a joint venture between Malaysia's Maxis Communications (74%) and India's Apollo Hospital Enterprise (26%).

On the web: Mobile World - Aircel - BSNL

Posted to the site on 4th October 2009