The Hindu : AirTel launches dual band network

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 22, 2003

Business

Business

AirTel launches dual band network

NEW DELHI AUG. 21 . In an effort to provide better connectivity and ease network congestion for its cellular subscribers even at peak hours, Bharti today launched India's first dual band network in Delhi to leverage the benefits of 1800 MHz and 900 MHz frequency bands.

"The network, which has been designed by Ericsson, will ensure better connectivity and minimal network congestion even at peak hours, especially at high call traffic areas or hotspots. The dual band solution will also lead to further optimisation in spectrum usage,'' Sanjay Nandrajog, CEO of Bharti Cellular (North Central region), said at a conference here.

AirTel now has a subscriber base of 1.1 million in Delhi and has a spectrum allocation of 10 MHz (8 MHz in 900 MHz band and 2 MHz in 1800 MHz band).

It announced deployment of 70 dual band cell sites in the "hotspots'' of Delhi in the first phase, while the second phase will see deployment of 40 more dual band cell sites and two more switching units.

According to a company official, 85 per cent of subscribers have handsets that support dual band network, while the balance 15 per cent subscribers, who do not, would be taken on 900 Mhz band. The company has also planned an investment of Rs. 250 crores in the current financial year on its mobile infrastructure. It had earlier announced an investment of Rs. 175 crores for the year for its operations in Delhi. Mr. Nandrajog said Bharti Cellular's second phase of roll out was expected to be completed in the next 6-8 weeks. "In addition, we are installing multi-band cell feature, the first by a service provider on a wireless network in Asia, along with the deployment of voice quality enhancers and better and more efficient use of available spectrum leading to a 35 per cent increase in call handling capacity," he said. The company said hotspots in Delhi, where the traffic was the maximum, included Connaught Place, Nehru Place, Chandni Chowk and Okhla. — PTI

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