India's Aircel has awarded 3G rollout contracts to vendors Nokia Siemens and ZTE.
The operator has tapped NSN to deliver HSPA+ base stations and radio network controllers in three of its 13 circles.
NSN will also provide a mobile packet backbone network, security solutions and network management and optimization software.
ZTE has won an $85 million deal to provide its integrated 2G, 3G and HSPA+ platform and to upgrade the GSM network. The SDR equipment will also provide a path to eventually transition to LTE, ZTE said.
Nokia Siemens will manage the network under a four-year services contract.
Aircel last month awarded a 3G contract to Ericsson for six circles, covering core, radio and transmission network equipment and network rollout and consulting services.
Aircel, majority-owned by Malaysia's Maxis, is India's fifth largest GSM service provider. During this year's 3G auction, the operator paid 65 billion rupees ($1.44b) for 3G spectrum in 13 of India's 22 telecom circles.
The company has announced plans to launch 3G services in the 10 largest cities in each circle in the first quarter of next year.
Rival Tata DoCoMo became the first private operator to offer 3G services last month, Bharti Airtel has flagged a launch by the end of the year and Vodafone Essar also plans to commence services in early 2011.
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