India's Bharti Airtel on Wednesday signed a "multi-billion" dollar deal with Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson to boost its 4G and 5G coverage in the world's second-largest smartphone market.

Telecommunications giant Ericsson on Wednesday said it has been awarded a multi-billion, 4G and 5G extension deal by Bharti Airtel for its India operations.

Bharti Airtel extended a 4G and 5G network equipment contract with Ericsson, covering centralised RAN and open RAN-ready gear.

Ericsson has signed a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar extension deal with Bharti Airtel to supply 4G and 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) products and solutions for its operations in India. As part of the agreement,

Ericsson and Bharti Airtel have expanded their partnership with a new multi-year, multi-billion dollar agreement. This comes after the expansion of a similar 4G and 5G deal between Nokia and Airtel last month.

As per the new contract, Ericsson will deploy centralised RAN and Open RAN-ready solutions for network transformation,” Ericsson said, adding that the new equipment will widen the coverage and enhance Airtel’s network capacity.

Bharti Airtel awarded Ericsson a multi-billion deal to enhance its 4G and 5G networks. The new contract covers deployments and upgrades for better coverage and capacity. Airtel aims to stay competitive against Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea.