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On Thursday, Bharti Airtel said it has deployed an additional 17.4 MHz spectrum in Himachal Pradesh. Today's deployment makes it third of its kind in North India within 15 days.
Bharti Airtel Throwing the Gauntlet in North India
Of the total spectrum, Airtel deployed 2.6MHz in the 900MHz band, 4.8MHz in the 1800MHz band, and 10MHz in the 2300MHz band. Therefore, the telco has now become the telco with the largest holdings in the state. Airtel took its spectrum holdings in the state to 70 MHz.
Out of the 70 MHz, the telco holds 40 MHz in 2300 MHz band, 20MHz in 1800+2100 MHz bands, and 10MHz in 900 MHz band.
As per the telco, it has over 2.98 million customers in Himachal Pradesh. It also said that its network covers 95.02% population of the state.
Bharti Airtel also said that it acquired the spectrum in the March Spectrum Auction. During that auction, Airtel picked spectrum worth over ₹18,000 Crore, picking up crucial spectrum in bands like the 800 MHz band, which it co-owns with Reliance Jio.
In a press statement, the telco said, “the deployment of additional spectrum will enable improved network availability and data speeds along with better coverage inside homes and buildings in urban and rural areas”.
Manu Sood, Hub CEO – Upper North, Bharti Airtel, added, “With the addition of 17.4 MHz spectrum across bands, Airtel now has the largest spectrum bank of 70 MHz in Himachal Pradesh.”
This is the third spectrum deployment Airtel has conducted in the North. The telco had deployed spectrum in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana on 31st May and 3rd June. The latest deployment will improve Airtel's network coverage and quality in the entire region. Over the span of the three spectrum deployments, Bharti Airtel has now deployed 62.4 MHz spectrum in the region.