After successful trials, Airtel, one of the prominent telecom service providers in the country has formally launched its high-speed 4G services in 296 towns across India.
While Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm is still gearing up to launch affordable 4G plans for Indian customers, Airtel’s 4G will be available across a range of smart devices including mobile phones, dongles, 4G hotspots and Wi-Fi dongles.
Airtel’s rivals Idea Cellular, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications have also announced launch plans for their respective 4G services - either later this year or early next year.
"With the help of the feedback received from the beta launches, we have now built India's first commercial 4G network that will make high speed mobile broadband a reality. The national roll-out today is another small step in our journey to be the most innovative and customer focused brand," Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said, in a statement.
"We also believe that an open platform is critical to developing an ecosystem that nurtures innovation and enabling our consumers to access a myriad sof possibilities on their mobile phones. Our 4G network is therefore built on an open partner ecosystem model that brings together the best in the industry and introduces the market to these never before experiences," Vittal added.
Airtel also launched a new carrier agnostic mobile app - 'Wynk Movies' - a first of its kind movie mall that will offer a specially curated library of thousands of movies and other popular videos.
The telco is offering 4G services at 3G data prices with packs starting at Rs 25. In addition, with every 4G SIM swap, Airtel is offering six months of unlimited music streaming and downloads on 'Wynk Music' and five free movies per month for six months on the Eros Now channel of 'Wynk Movies'.
In addition, the telco has introduced a new range of 'Infinity Plans' starting Rs 999. These high-end plans offer unlimited voice calls on mobile (first time in India) along with data benefits and access to 'Wynk Movies' and 'Wynk Music', the company said in a press statement.
The service provider is providing home delivery of SIMs and postpaid connections in four hours.