Airtel switches off 3G in Maharashtra, refarms airwaves for 4G

Bharti Airtel, India’s third-largest cellco by subscribers, has switched off its 3G network in Maharashtra and Goa – excluding Mumbai – as part of its plan to phase out the technology in favour of 4G. 2G services are unaffected by the move, Airtel notes, as it aims to continue serving the needs of customers with feature phones. The deactivation of its 3G network has allowed Airtel to refarm its 2100MHz spectrum in that circle for 4G services, improving the capacity and coverage of its LTE network. According to Airtel, its 4G network in the circle now utilises TD-LTE on the 2300MHz and 2100MHz bands as well FDD-LTE on the 1800MHz band. Airtel’s regional CEO Rohit Marwha said of the development: ‘The deployment of 4G and refarming of 3G spectrum is in line with our national strategy of focusing on serving quality customers with best-in-class service experience. Also, it complements the current smartphone ecosystem, which has now gravitated overwhelmingly towards 4G only devices.’