One of India’s top mobile operators Bharti Airtel has joined hands with internet technology specialist IBM to manage the computing technology and services for its recently acquired mobile networks in 16 different African countries. The agreement is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, said: “There are huge opportunities in Africa to transform the way in which people communicate. The company’s focus is to deliver on that by offering affordable mobile services for all. More importantly, this alliance underlines our commitment to the growth of Africa’s ICT sector and contributes towards bridging the digital divide on the continent.”

A Deloitte report said that 40 out of every 100 Africans citizens were in possession of a mobile phone. However, it said that demand was growing at an average rate of 25 percent annually, and a 10 percent rise in mobile penetration could increase the GDP by 1.2 percent in developing markets.

It is expected that the partnership could allow Bharti Airtel to substantially improve its network and systems to cater to in excess of 100 million African customers by 2012.

IBM chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano said: “We have achieved great success together in India, and now we are bringing that model to Africa. By building a 21st century telecommunications infrastructure for the continent – in effect, treating all of Africa as a system of systems – we expect to help spark transformation not just in communications but across all sectors of society – empowering businesses, governments and individual citizens to connect, innovate and achieve economic growth.”

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