Bharti Airtel's Africa subsidiary and telecom conglomerate Nokia on Monday announced a 3-year tie-up to modernize the network in Nairobi with high-speed 4G, and deploy 5G-ready equipment. The deployment of the 5G-ready network commenced in June and will cover hundreds of sites, the statement said.

It will include upgrading existing 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network coverage in urban, semi-urban, highways, tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya, it added. Nokia's network infrastructure will also offer Airtel Kenya the option to smoothly transition to 5G when necessary. The upgraded network will deliver enhanced connectivity to customers of Airtel Kenya and access to new, high-speed data services.

Airtel Kenya CEO PD Sarma said in the statement said, "We are in the midst of rolling out our network to enhance coverage along with modernization of our data network that will help us deliver improved, high-speed data services to our customers." He added that this will allow customers seamless coverage enhancing their browsing experience further.

Nokia Head of CEWA Market Unit Rajiv Aggarwal said, "This is an exciting deal in an exciting market. We are proud to supply Airtel Kenya with our comprehensive AirScale portfolio and support the operator with its efforts to deliver the best possible connectivity experiences to end-users in Kenya.

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