After Bharti Airtel which has already  launched 4G services in Kolkata and Benguluru, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is working on planning to launch its 4G network in collaboration with  with Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL, Economic Times reports).

 RIL has acquired pan India airwaves for high speed internet and data services in May 2010.

Persons who are familiar with the development told ET that that Reliance owned Infotel Broadband will focus on key aspects of the network and monitor the rollout, but will leave ground level execution and management to HFCL, which has prior experience of similar deployment.

The news paper quoted these persons to say that the staff being hired for setting up towers and laying optic fibre for RIL's 4G venture will be on HFCL's payrolls, said two persons who were interviewed for the project and given offer letters by HFCL. They were told the recruitment was part of an outsourcing contract.

ET has quoted the HFCL Chairman Mahendra Nahata who denied hiring people on RIL's behalf as saying. "We are recruiting people, but that is for our own work, and these are people we have identified," he said. "We have been doing some tests and sample deployments for RIL, but there is no large contract yet," he added.

4G is a successor to the 3G and 2G families and is expected to be five times quicker than the 3G services in the country.