Bharti Airtel, SK Telecom tie-up to build advanced network in India

Bharti Airtel and Korea's telecommunications company SK Telecom on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership to build advanced telecom network in India.

The partnership will work across several areas, including developing software to dramatically improve network experience, leveraging advanced digital tools including machine learning, big data and building customized tools, to improve network planning based on every customer's device experience, a company statement said here.

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.

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

"SK Telecom will work closely with Bharti to achieve new network innovations so as to deliver a greater value to Bharti's customers," said Park Jung-ho, President and CEO of SK Telecom.