Airtel shuts down 3G in Kolkata, Re-farms 3G spectrum to bolster its 4G services

In one of the first phase outs of 3G technology globally, Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) has announced the shutdown of its 3G network in Kolkata. Airtel mobile broadband services in city will now be available on high speed 4G.

Airtel has refarmed the 900 MHz band spectrum being used for 3G to further strengthen its 4G network. The Company is deploying state-of-the-art L900 technology in the 900 MHz band to complement its 4G services in the 2300 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands.

With L900, Airtel smartphone customers will enjoy improved 4G availability inside buildings - homes, offices and malls. It will also result in wider availability of Airtel 4G and a superior network experience across Kolkata.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO – Bharti Airtel said: “This is in line with our stated strategy of focusing on serving quality customers with best-in-class service experience. Going forward, we plan to re-farm all of our 3G spectrum across India and deploy it for 4G in a phased manner. Also, it complements the smartphone ecosystem, which has now gravitated overwhelmingly towards 4G only devices.”

Airtel will continue to provide 2G services in Kolkata to serve the connectivity needs of customers on feature phones.

All customers on 3G were duly notified and requested to upgrade their handsets/SIMs to continue enjoying best-in-class smartphone experience. 3G customers who are yet to upgrade their handsets/SIMs will continue to get access to high quality voice services.

Airtel has been consistently rated as the fastest mobile network in India by multiple globally renowned platforms.