International Business Machines Corp. (IBM: News ) said Friday that it has completed contract negotiations with India-based telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd. to provide technology services for Airtel's operations in 16 African countries. Airtel is the new brand name for the 16 Zain operations across Africa that were acquired by Bharti Airtel in June 2010.

As part of the 10-year agreement signed in December 2010, IBM will deploy and manage the information technology infrastructure and applications to support Airtel's goal of providing affordable and innovative mobile services throughout Africa, the world's fastest growing mobile market.

IBM said it will provide customer support applications that include customer relationship management, billing, and self-service that will enable Airtel to deliver 2G and 3G mobile services. In addition, IBM intends to deploy a media management system to offer content such as music and video over mobile devices, while simultaneously facilitating the growth of the application developer community in Africa, which will enable Airtel to tap new sources of revenue.

Manoj Kohli, Chief Executive Officer (International) and Joint Managing Director, Airtel said, "Our relationship with IBM is catalytic in its delivery of information and communication technology solutions across Africa. The deployment of cutting edge technology will provide a positive multiplier effect to our customers, employees and business partners through applications that deliver enhanced services, data and processes in real time."

Bruno Di Leo, General Manager, IBM Growth Markets, said, "With more than half a billion mobile subscriptions and significant annual growth, Africa represents 10 percent of the global market. The demand for new services - such as mobile internet access - spurs the need for a developed network of telecommunications connectivity. IBM is helping airtel tap this growth by accelerating the rollout of an enhanced consumer experience across the continent."

IBM noted that in 2004, Airtel selected the company to run IT and applications for its entire network in India. Since then, Airtel has grown to more than 150 million subscribers from six million subscribers. Airtel currently has 40 million customers across its African operations and is targeting 100 million by 2012-2013. Africa is the world's fastest growing mobile market.

IBM closed Thursday's regular trading session at $148.82, down $0.28 on a volume of 3.45 million shares.