Bharti Airtel is gearing up to increase the footprint of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Kolkata by expanding the reach of its fibre optic network, the Economic Times writes.

Atin Ghosh, the mayor-in-council of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is quoted as saying, ‘Airtel officials had met me to increase fibre network coverage by anywhere between 500km and 1,000km for expanding 4G services. We had provided Airtel the draft licensing agreement required for cable laying.’ The development follows the announcement that the 4G start-up unit of petrochemical giant Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Reliance Jio Infocomm, had sought permission from the KMC to install 750km of fibre its LTE network.