Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa has appointed Chinese Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions giant Huawei, to plan, design, supply and deploy its TD LTE (4G) network in Karnataka.

Early this month Airtel had rolled out 4G services in Kokata with another Chinese telco major ZTE.

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.

Bharti Airtel had paid Rs 3,314.36 crore for getting fourth generation spectrum in four circles Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Kolkata in a government auction held in 2010.

Besides offering rich data content to the customers in Karnataka, Bharti Airtel’s 4G LTE deployed on Huawei's TD LTE technology, will allow subscribers to experience high speed wireless internet access that can support bandwidth intensive applications, support video streaming and high-definition video conferencing. Under this agreement, Huawei will deliver the LTE solution comprising of network infrastructure and devices.

 “High speed wireless broadband has the potential to transform India, providing a robust platform for building the country’s digital economy. According to industry estimates, mobile data traffic in the country will increase nearly 100 fold by 2015 and consumers will stream nearly 600 hours of video content. With the pioneering launch of 4G LTE, Airtel has paved the way for data revolution in the country by being at the forefront of India’s telecom revolution once again.” Sanjay Kapoor, CEO Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) said.

Cai Liqun, CEO of Huawei India, said, “Bharti Airtel is a leading operator with global footprint and high business value. We understand Airtel’s strategic requirements and Huawei being a leading global broadband player; will together achieve a win-win business success. As a leading Telecom solutions partner with substantial experience, we believe our innovative technology as well as strong delivery capability will bring Bharti Airtel’s customers a better user experience and value proposition".

Huawei has partnered with Bharti Airtel in Sri Lanka & part of Bangladesh and is also the 3G provider in the state of Karnataka & Tamil Nadu. Besides, they are also providing pan India 4G optical network, Carrier Ethernet infrastructure and NGN switches.