Airtel extends 4G for Smartphones to three more cities India’s largest telco Airtel has extended its 4G LTE service for smartphones to Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. after launching it in Bangalore earlier this February. Airtel mentions that this service is limited to iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C users since these two phones support the TD-LTE 2300 MHz band on which Airtel has currently deployed its 4G service. However, it does note that Airtel 4G service can also be used on other devices like Xolo LT 900 and LG G2 which supports this band. Hence, its not clear whether Airtel has an exclusive tie-up with Apple for this 4G LTE service. The service will be available for both pre-paid and postpaid customers. New customers can pick up a 4G SIM and choose a 3G data plan to get started while existing customers can use this service at the same price of their existing 3G plans, although they will have to change their existing SIM to a 4G SIM. Remember that Airtel is also looking to use the 1800MHz spectrum it acquired in the February 2014 2G auctions, to roll out high speed 4G networks using FD-LTE technology in the 1800 MHz band for a pan-India 4G rollout. This will essentially enable users on other handsets to also make use of Airtel’s 4G service, although there is currently no information on when Airtel plans to roll out this service in India. Airtel is currently the only telco which offers 4G services in…
