Airtel launches 4G service in Pune

After Bangalore and Kolkata, Bharti Airtel launched Airtel postpaid 4G services in Pune, the first 4G service in Maharashtra.

Airtel also has plans of rolling out India's first multi-mode LTE TDD smartphone in India along with partners Qualcomm and Huawei.

The dongle for accessing 4G services on laptops and PCs is priced at ' 4,999. In addition, there are monthly usage charges. The 4G service is available for mobile handsets, Airtel 4G LTE, Airtel 4G dongle and Airtel 4G movies.

Commenting on this, K Srinivas, president, consumer business, Bharti Airtel said, "The response received by Airtel 4G services in Kolkata and Bangalore has been compelling – thus reinforcing our long term focus on delivering technologies to fulfill the needs of India's rapidly growing data evolution story. With both home and office users opting for 4G services, it is heartening to see early adopters of this technology acknowledge the experience that Airtel 4G delivers – for everything from streaming videos and downloading music, to accessing business applications, email and rich multimedia content. We are optimistic about the traction that 4G will see in months to come and loo k forward to rolling out our services in other circles soon."

Customers can now check the availability of Airtel 4G services in their area online through the familiar Google Maps interface and buy the services online.

Along with a host of payment options, Airtel 4G will also be available on monthly EMI's and cash on delivery. The online purchasing capability will soon be rolled out for customers in Bengaluru and Kolkata as well.

Airtel Broadband TV service on Airtel 4G dongle allows customers to stream live TV content directly onto their laptop or desktop without the prerequisite of a cable or set-top box connection.

Using Airtel 4G, customers can now access to close to 76 channels and on-demand videos across various genres including movies, music, entertainment and news.