Bharti Airtel has commercially deployed LTE-Advanced (4G+) in Kerala, a technology that enables the operator to provide data speeds of up to 135 MBPS. This is the first commercial deployment of the services, the company said in a statement.
“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,” said Bharti Airtel Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (India & South Asia) Gopal Vittal.
Airtel partnered with Nokia Networks to deploy the carrier aggregation technology in Kerala. The operator used carrier aggregation technology, combining the capacities of TD LTE (2300 MHz spectrum band) and FD LTE (1800 MHz spectrum band), to deliver data speeds of up to 135 MBPS.
Carrier aggregation enables enhanced spectrum efficiency by combining capacities across multiple 4G carriers (same or different spectrum bands) to deliver ultra-fast mobile data speeds.
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.