Airtel has announced that it has started rolling out India’s first LTE-Advanced (4G+) technology (carrier aggregation across TD LTE and LTE FDD) on a live 4G network starting from Kerala. It has partnered with Nokia Networks for deploying the carrier aggregation technology in the state.
It uses carrier aggregation technology and combines the capacities of TD LTE (2300 MHz spectrum band) and FD LTE (1800 MHz spectrum band) for data speeds of up to 135 Mbps.”Carrier aggregation 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,” said the company.
Airtel said that this is a part of its ongoing network transformation program – Project Leap, under which it plans to invest Rs 60,000 crores over the next three years. Airtel currently offers 4G services in over 350 towns across India.
The Airtel LTE-Advanced (4G+) network is available in mobile devices on its 4G network in Kerala.
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said:
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.