Bharti Airtel has invited bids to outsource the management of its inter-city optic fibre cable network.

It has been reported that the deal is estimated to be worth up to $1bn over a five-year period.

“We will form a JV and have a stake in the company to which we award this contract,” Bharti’s chief executive officer, Manoj Kohli, told the Economic Times. Kohli also suggested that Bharti hopes to close the deal before the end of this fiscal.

Bharti operates optical fibre cable network of over 100,000 route kilometers. The company is also set to renew its multi-billion network-outsourcing contracts with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens this year.