Airtel has today announced the shutdown of 3G network in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as part of the operator’s move to focus on 4G network.
Airtel has re-farmed its spectrum in the 2100 Mhz band that was being used for 3G services, to further strengthen its 4G Network. It has also deployed the L2100 technology on 4G to complement its existing 4G services.
In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Airtel uses 2300 Mhz (TD LTE), 2100 Mhz (FD LTE) and 1800 Mhz (FD LTE) to offer 4G services.
Re-farming of 3G spectrum for 4G will further boost the network capacity and wider availability of Airtel 4G thus significantly improving coverage inside buildings , homes, offices, malls and outdoors – especially during intracity/ intercity transit for 4G smartphone customers, Airtel said.
Airtel’s move is also driven by the fact that most customers in India now opt for 4G-only smartphones, leading to minimal use of 3G services.
Dharmender Khajuria, CEO- Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Bharti Airtel said, “The smartphone eco system in India is currently going through a phase where adoption of 4G only devices is overwhelming and we are completely aligned with the changing environment and convenience of our customers.”
However, 3G customers in these regions who are yet to upgrade their handsets/SIMs will continue to get access to high quality voice services.
While phasing out 3G, Airtel continues to offer 2G services in these regions to serve the connectivity needs of customers on feature phones, the company said.
Earlier in November, Airtel also announced it has discontinued 3G service in Kerala.
