Airtel launches 4G services in Ludhiana

Bharti Airtel on Sunday launched its fourth generation (4G) services in Ludhiana, with plans for post-paid users starting at Rs 100.

Ludhiana becomes second city in Punjab after Mohali where the country's largest mobile operator is offering 4G services. Airtel has services also in Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh and Panchkula.

"With this roll out, the industrial hub becomes the first city in the country to witness the electrifying Internet browsing experience simultaneously on dongles, wi-fi CPEs (customer premise equipment/routers) and mobile phones," the company said in a statement.

Airtel said customers on iPhone 5s or 5c can access 4G by upgrading to a universal or 4G SIM. The service is also available through 4G dongle, wi-fi CPE and 4G compatible handsets including Xolo LT 900 and LG G2.

"As a brand, we are committed to enriching the lives of millions and invite our data savvy customers in the city to enjoy this world class data experience which we are offering at unbeatable prices," Bharti Airtel (India) Hub CEO -Upper North Manu Sood said.

The company has launched special packs of Rs 999 (for postpaid - mobiles, dongles and CPEs) and Rs 995 (for prepaid- mobiles only). For postpaid mobile customers, the plans will start as low as Rs 100, the company said.

4G mobile Internet technology provides download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) at a fixed location.

Airtel had won spectrum for high-speed broadband service - Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) - in four telecom services areas of Kolkata, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka in 2010. It later acquired Qualcomm, which had 4G spectrum New Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.