Airtel join hands with SK Telecom to build the most advanced telecom network in India

India's largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has announced its strategic partnership with SK Telecom to leverage the South Korean telecom operator's expertise to build the most advanced telecom network in India.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman - Bharti Airtel said, " This partnership will bring a dramatically improved experience for Airtel customers in India by leveraging the expertise of a company that has built one of the best mobile broadband networks in the world."

"Strong partnerships have been a hallmark of Airtel's growth journey and we are proud to have always looked ahead to bring the latest technology to India. With SK Telecom's clear and undisputed leadership in technology, this is one partnership that will decisively change the game in India and put the country on par with the most advanced broadband nations in the world," added Mittal.

The capacity to identify, monitor and deliver improvements to the network experience on an individual device basis will be a first in India, helped by SK Telecom's global leadership in this area, Airtel said.

The two companies will also collaborate on an ongoing basis to evolve standards for 5G, Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), Software-defined Networking (SDN) and Internet of Things (IoT), and jointly work towards building an enabling ecosystem for the introduction of these technologies in the Indian context.

SK Telecom is delighted to announce a strategic partnership with Bharti Airtel, a global leading mobile operator," said Park Jung-ho, the President, and CEO of SK Telecom. "SK Telecom will work closely with Bharti to achieve new network innovations so as to deliver a greater value to Bharti's customers."

SK Telecom is Korea's largest telecommunications company with more than 29 million mobile subscribers, which accounts for around 50 percent of the total market.