Bharti Airtel said it has deployed an extra block of spectrum to its 4G service in Uttar Pradesh East circle, improving the carrying capacity of the network.
“The addition of fresh 5 MHz spectrum will significantly boost Airtel’s mobile network capacity across UP (East) and enable a superior 4G data and voice experience for customers through improved outdoor and indoor coverage,” it said.
The move comes on the heels of its purchase of Telenor’s spectrum in the circle, which is likely to be the one that has been added to the 4G network.
Telenor had purchased 5 MHz of spectrum in UP East and five other circles in 2012.
The other circles where Telenor had 5 MHz of spectrum are Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
It is likely that Airtel will augment its 4G network in these circles too by adding Telenor spectrum.
The move comes even as Idea Cellular and Vodafone are all set to do a similar exercise that will double the spectrum used by the two players for 4G services, making it the biggest holder of 4G spectrum in India.
“Airtel customers across all the districts of UP (East) will benefit from this deployment,” Airtel said.
It also said that it has “scaled up” the back-end connectivity to its mobile towers and extended its fiber backbone in the circle to keep up with demand.
In an effort to compete with newcomer Reliance Jio, Airtel has been upgrading its radio and core network using the latest technology.
