Nokia has signed a $24 million deal with Idea Cellular for supplying GSM and GPRS network equipment and multimedia services in India.

Nokia becomes the sole supplier of Idea's GPRS network with this deal, a Nokia press release said in New Delhi.

Deliveries have begun and the project is scheduled for completion before the end of 2004.

Nokia will supply the complete range of its GSM/GPRS equipment such as base station subsystems, switching sub-systems, GPRS core network, SMS system, multimedia messaging centre expansion and Nokia download solution.

Idea operates in 11 circles and Nokia will expand Idea's GSM network in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh circles while extending the present GPRS core of Delhi to four circles -- Maharashtra, AP, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Through this agreement, Idea's data network capability will be enhanced to handle the expected growth in data services and ensuring an efficient GSM revolution, Ashish Chowdhury, country head, India and South Asia, Nokia Networks, said.