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Airtel is launching LTE services using spectrum in the 900MHz band
Indian telco Bharti Airtel is to launch LTE on the 900MHz spectrum band in 10 cities across India, according to reports in the press.
Speaking to The Economic Times of India, Bharti Airtel’s chief technology officer, Randeep Sekhon said that the introduction of LTE 900 services would particularly help to improve indoor coverage for Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services.
“We see healthy growth in VoLTE traffic volume as more customers upgrade to 4G smartphones. This will also decongest 2G/3G networks that carry a bulk of voice traffic and free up spectrum that can be reframed for 4G,” said Sekhon.
The rollout of LTE 900 services will initially benefit subscribers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where Airtel currently uses spectrum in the 1,800MHz and 2,300MHz band to deliver LTE services. The launch of LTE services on 900MHz spectrum will improve signal strength inside homes and buildings, according to the company’s regional CEO, Avneet Puri.
"Airtel smartphone customers will enjoy a seamless high-speed data and HD quality calling experience on our upgraded network. We will continue to invest aggressively in deployment of latest network technologies to delight our customers,” he said.
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