Airtel steps up 4G offensive, looks at offering 135 Mbps

Deployment is part of firm's Rs 60,000 cr Project Leap programme to meet growing demand for voice and high speed data

The country’s largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, clearly wants to stay ahead in the data game.

The company announced on Sunday it was the first operator in India to deploy long-term evolution (LTE)-Advanced (4G+) technology on its network that would deliver broadband speeds of up to 135 megabits per second (Mbps) and enhance spectrum efficiency. With this, the telecom operator has joined a select group of operators globally, which have done this.

The technology will also allow carrier aggregation, which enables enhanced spectrum efficiency by combining capacities across multiple LTE carriers (within same or different spectrum bands), to deliver a superior user experience and ultra-fast mobile data speeds. In Kerala, Airtel claims to be delivering data speeds of up to 135 Mbps on commercially available mobile devices on its network.

The deployment is a part of Airtel’s ongoing network transformation programme, Project Leap, under which Airtel plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore over the next three years to meet the growing demand of voice and high speed data services in India and deliver the best network experience to its customers. Airtel currently has the largest 4G network in the country with live services in over 350 towns.

According to Gopal Vittal, managing director & chief executive officer (India & South Asia), “This is a game changer for mobile broadband in India. Airtel has pioneered 4G deployment in India and we are delighted to raise the innovation benchmark to deliver a world-class experience to our customers. Our strong 4G footprint and a rapidly maturing device ecosystem will now allow us to deliver the next level of high speed mobile data services on our network.”