This is a first of its kind deal between a public and private telecom company. Aircel is the first telecom operator to sign a passive infrastructure sharing agreement with the publically owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

Mr Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel, said, “This is a historic moment for the company. Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL’s 21 circles (excluding Mumbai & Delhi). Leveraging BSNL’s passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost.”

Mr 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”.

Aircel currently has approximately 32,000 network base stations across the country and post this partnership, it will also have access to BSNL’s 45,000 network towers across its 21 circles.