Telecom service provider Aircel on Thursday said it has signed a 10-year tower-sharing agreement with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Aircel,which currently has about 32,000 base stations,will now have access to approximately 45,000 BSNL towers across all its circles. It did not disclose financial details of the deal. Aircel is a part of Malaysia's Maxis Communications and has a subscriber base of over 24 million users. It is present in 18 telecom circles and has licence for a pan-India roll out. "Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL's 21 circles (excluding Mumbai and Delhi). Leveraging BSNL's passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost," Aircel Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh said in a statement. 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. Tata Teleservices yesterday announced a 15-year infrastructure-sharing deal with the state-run telco,which has pan-India operations (except Delhi and Mumbai).
