Bharti Airtel, India’s largest Telecom operator, launched TD-LTE services in Kolkata on April 10. By this Bharti Airtel became the first telecom operator to launch high-speed 4G broadband in India. At initial phase, subscribers can connect to the service at up to 40Mbps with a single-mode USB dongle. Currently there are three service plans available as prepaid or postpaid.

The Breakfree plan costs INR 999 (around 18.9$) per month for 6GB data, Breakfree max costs INR 1,399 (around 26.4$) for 9GB and Breakfree ultra costs INR 1,999 (around 37.8$) for 18GB. After the monthly allowance is used up, the speed is cut to 128Kbps. ZTE was selected to plan and deploy this network for the operator.

Bharti Airtel will deploy the TD-LTE network in other three circles including Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) soon. More different types of data terminals are to be provided in the near future, such as TD-LTE/FDD-LTE/UMTS/GMS multi-mode USB dongle, indoor/outdoor CPE and TD-LTE/UMTS/GSM multi-mode mifi.

Bharti Airtel TD-LTE network launch ceremony