India's leading private telecom company Bharti Airtel has entered into a five-year network management deal with Alcatel Lucent. Both the companies have signed the $500 million-deal on Thursday (April 30). As per the agreement, the two companies will form a joint venture, which will manage Airtel's fixedline and broadband services.

 

Alcatel Lucent will hold 74 percent stake in the new entity, while the remaining 26 percent stake will go to Airtel. While informing about the deal, CEO of Bharti Airtel, Manoj Kohli said that Alcatel Lucent will operate the new entity with 4,000 employees. Earlier, Bharti Airtel has roped in Nokia Siemens and Ericsson for its network management and IBM for its IT infrastructure.

The leading private telecom company of the country, Bharti Airtel controls 24 percent of the Indian mobile market with nearly 94 million users. On the other hand, Alcatel Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation with its headquarter in Paris. The Paris-based company deals in fixed, mobile, and converged broadband networking hardware.