Airtel Plans To Expand 4G Networks; Ties Up With Ceragon

Airtel is planning to expand its 4G networks in the first quarter of this financial year. The telco has already joined hands with Ceragon for the same. The operator is planning to expand its 4G coverage in urban and rural regions. Besides, the operator is preparing to deploy its 5G network.

"We have been working closely with Ceragon to pursue the rapid deployment of its microwave radios, as best it can, considering India's recent temporary lockdown," Airtel said.

The announcement comes at that time when Reliance Jio has shared its plans to offer high-speed internet in Delhi and NCR. Airtel states that the wireless hauling solutions and outdoor dual-carriers of Ceragon will help them to fulfill the internet demand.

The operator also believes that the partnership will allow them to improve spectrum efficiency in the rural and urban areas. In addition, Airtel can install hundreds of 4G sites each week with the help of this Ceragon.

Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer of Airtel said, "Ceragon's wireless hauling solutions and services allow us to quickly adapt to our customers' changing needs and deliver higher speeds with reliable, first-time-right rollouts."

Vodafone-Idea Upgrading 4G Sites In Haryana

Meanwhile, Vodafone-Idea has announced that it is upgrading 4G sites in Haryana, to meet the growing demand for the internet. The operator states that it is deploying 800 4G sites with a 900 MHz spectrum band. The firm said this 900 MHz spectrum band will improve the indoor connectivity along with internet speed in Haryana.

This is the second time that operator has shared its plans for deploying networks. Earlier, the telco had deployed 2100+ small cells in the congested areas of Delhi and NCR. With an aim to provide good connectivity during the lockdown, all private players have recently asked for an additional spectrum from the Department of Telecommunication.

However, later on, industry body COAI said that they have enough spectrums to maintain the quality of networks. But still, the pressure or loads on networks has been increased by many folds. The voice calls via mobiles have been surged by 15 to 25 percent. This means an additional burden on networks. Besides, operators are making a lot of investments in offering benefits to prepaid users. So, we believe that sooner or later they will again raise the tariffs and will reduce their spending on networks.