Bharti Airtel announces massive network roll-out plans for Odisha

India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced its massive network roll-out plans for the current fiscal to further expand its high-speed mobile data footprint in Odisha.

As a part of its network expansion program - Project LEAP, Airtel plans to add 4,400 new sites in 2018-19, along with an addition of 1,500 km of optic fiber, in Odisha, the telco said.

Siddharth Motiwale, Chief Operating Officer - Odisha, Bharti Airtel Ltd, said: "We are committed to offering our customers in Odisha a seamless experience on the best smartphone network."

He said: "We will continue to invest aggressively in the region and expand our network capabilities with over 15,600 sites by the end of this financial year. With our enhanced speeds, reach and coverage, we also aim to contribute towards the Government's vision of Digital India."

Furthermore, with this planned roll-out, a number of mobile sites in Odisha would go up by 40 percent to 15,600, further enhancing the speeds and voice qualities.

The addition of fresh optic fiber would extend its fiber backbone to 9,500 km, supporting the growth of high-speed data services in the region, Airtel said.

With VoLTE services launched in June 2018, Airtel is already witnessing a steady surge in its VoLTE traffic in Odisha on the back of the availability of a seamless 4G network with fallback capability.

During 2017-17 the telco deployed 3660 new sites and rolled out over 500 km of optic fiber in Odisha, extending its mobile broadband footprint to 53,500 towns and villages.

With VoLTE services launched in June, Airtel is witnessing a steady surge in its VoLTE traffic in Odisha, he said.