Bharti Airtel unveils 4G LTE in Ludhiana

Bharti Airtel has unveiled 4G LTE for mobile and broadband customers in Ludhiana, shortly after it introduced it the same services to subscribers in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, who prefer fast internet.

What this meant was the network operator was seen launching mobile access via 4G for those who liked surfing the web on their smartphones or tablets.

In February, Airtel set up its 4G LTE network for mobile devices including the iPhone 5S and 5C in Bangalore.

With 4G LTE supported on all sorts of devices, users can sign up to access it via dongles, Wi-Fi routers or phones / tablets. The rates would be Rs 999 for post-paid customers using a compatible dongle, router or mobile and Rs995 for prepaid handsets.

The tariff plans would start from as low as Rs 100 for those on billing/postpaid accounts.

Airtel owns spectrum for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) in Kolkata, Maharashtra (not inclusive of Mumbai though), Punjab and Karnataka circles and also had taken a 49 per cent interest in Qualcomm AP's India units that had won BWA licenses for Haryana, Delhi, Mumbai and Kerala.

With the development, Ludhiana becomes India's fifth city to have 4G services. The rollout comes as part of the Rs 4,000-crore investment and continued focus on Punjab by Airtel.

"The much awaited launch of Airtel 4G services fulfills a huge market requirement and will give customers in Ludhiana the power to upgrade to cutting edge 4G technology," said Manu Sood, hub CEO (upper north) Bharti Airtel, in a statement.

Airtel subscribers on iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C could start their mobile 4G experience by upgrading to a USIM (Universal SIM) / 4G SIM and selecting a plan or pack of their choice. Additionally, the customers could also get the service on Airtel dongles, Wi-Fi CPE and 4G compatible handsets including Xolo LT 900 and LG G2 (model D802T).

The USIM is available free with the purchase of dongle or CPE, while mobile users would need to pay Rs49. The 4G dongles are priced Rs 1500 by Airtel  and the CPE comes for Rs2500.

The company has also introduced a special pack of Rs999 (for post-paid mobiles, dongle and CPEs) and Rs995 (for prepaid mobiles only) with 10 GB of 4G data.

In December 2013, Airtel and the government of Punjab signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, under which Airtel said that it would take its high speed 4G LTE services to all towns and villages in the state with an investment of Rs 4,000-crore over a period of 5 years.