Airtel inks deal with Opera to offer co-branded browsers

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has signed a global arrangement with Opera Software to offer a customised and co-branded version of Opera Mini internet browser for Airtel mobile customers across its operations. With this, Airtel customers will be able to leverage Opera Mini's proxy-server-based technology to compress data and decrease their data transfer costs.

Commenting on the tie up, Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software, says, "Our primary drive is to provide the best user experience, no matter what device people use. There are millions of users with basic mobile phones instead of smartphones, and Opera Mini gives even the most basic phone a smartphone-like web experience.

"We are happy to welcome Airtel into our partner community. Airtel's strong presence in emerging markets, combined with Opera Mini's technology, will make the mobile web available to millions of new users."

Commenting on the newly formed alliance, K Srinivas, president, consumer business, Bharti Airtel, says, "We are excited to bring a superior browsing platform to Airtel mobile customers across India and South Asia by leveraging Opera Mini's tried-and-tested set of solutions. We are confident that this association will be instrumental in helping us deliver a truly customised, enhanced and optimised browsing experience for our data users."

For the record, Opera Software has agreements with 13 out of the top 30 operators globally.