Bharti Airtel awarded a contract to Nokia to supply its 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) equipment, which will be produced in India and packaged in fully recyclable materials.

The deal covers the vendor’s outdoor gateway receivers and Wi-Fi 6 access points, equipped with Qualcomm’s Modem-RF and Wi-Fi 6 chipsets.

Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon stated its FWA deployment is used to deliver high-speed internet service to underserved areas.

Sandy Motley, president of Fixed Networks at Nokia, explained India’s vastness and population density presents unique challenges for broadband connectivity.

“In those communities where fibre is difficult to deploy, FWA can be used to provide reliable wireless broadband connectivity.”

Nokia’s FastMile 5G outdoor receivers, designed for multi-dwelling units and capable of serving two households concurrently, help keep connection costs down, Airtel added.

Airtel launched its Xstream AirFiber FWA service in 2023 in Mumbai and Delhi.