Airtel, Voda ally with Huawei

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have offered to join hands with controversial Chinese company Huawei for the upcoming 5G trials.

The two operators and Reliance Jio, have submitted their proposals for the trials on Wednesday, the last day of application.

Sources said Airtel has joined hands with Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson and Nokia for the 5G trials in the country, while Jio has partnered Samsung. Vodafone Idea has also tied up with Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson and Nokia.

The department of telecom (DoT) initiated the process for deploying 5G in the country on December 31 by meeting major operators and vendors to discuss the road map for the trials, which are expected to happen in January-March.