Case Study: Bharti Airtel Achieves a Resilient, Future-Proof Optical Network with Ciena

Bharti Airtel’s Optical Network Transformation New technologies enable a highly resilient, adaptive and future-proof optical network

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest mobile operators, launched Project Leap to modernize its legacy network, expand capacity, improve service quality, and prepare for future 5G demand. The company faced a challenging telecom environment marked by very high fiber-cut rates, intense competition, low ARPU, and the need for a highly resilient, scalable optical network across a massive footprint.

Working with Ciena, Bharti Airtel implemented a next-generation optical architecture using CDC ROADM-based photonic layer control, flexible coherent transponders, open APIs, and SDN/analytics software, alongside hybrid protection and restoration across layer 0 and layer 1. The result was a more future-proof network with about 30% lower capex in greenfield areas, significant power and opex savings, and a reported 40–60% improvement in cell minute outages where the new design was deployed.

Bharti Airtel