With Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio set to launch 4G services shortly, Bharti Airtel has decided to invest ₹60,000 crore over the next three years on a network transformation programme called ‘Project Leap’. The company says the project will also help insulate its customers from ‘call drops’.

The amount will be over and above the ₹1.60 lakh crore it has already invested in its active and passive network, spectrum, fibre, submarine cables and systems till date, the company said. The investment will be largely met through cash accruals.

The company has set a 10-point programme under this project that includes deploying over 70,000 base stations this fiscal year, the most in a year since its inception.

It will also expand mobile broadband coverage to all towns and over 2.50 lakh villages by March 2016. In three years, it plans to offer mobile broadband to over five lakh villages in the country.

“By March 2016, over 60 per cent of Airtel’s network will also be mobile broadband enabled. In three years, it will deploy 1.60 lakh base stations, effectively doubling its presence from what it has today on the ground,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel (India and South Asia).

Telecom operators are ramping up their investments not just to improve the quality of service but also to be ready for Reliance Jio’s entry.

Vodafone, India’s second-largest telecommunications service provider by users, recently announced an investment of ₹13,000 crore. Idea Cellular has acquired Videocon’s spectrum in two circles for just over ₹3,300 crore.

Broadband focus In three years, Airtel plans to deploy over one lakh solutions through a combination of Wi-Fi hotspots, small cells and indoor solutions, Vittal said. As part of the programme, Airtel will also modernise its over three-million home broadband network.

By 2016, this will enable it to offer 50 Mbps speeds from 16 Mbps now.