Airtel launches 3G in Karnataka

India’s Airtel has launched its 3G network, with coverage initially in the southern Karnataka state, whose capital is the technology hub of Bangalore. The operator expects to offer 3G services in 40 cities by March across all of its 13 licensed areas, and expand the services to 1,500 cities and towns within a year.

These 13 telecom circles also constitute 68 per cent of Airtel’s revenue market share. This includes key metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, which account for 21 per cent of all data traffic in the country and are expected to have the strongest uptake of 3G services.

As none of the mobile networks hold 3G licenses covering all 22 of India’s licensed circles, the private operators are also in talks about network sharing where they have coverage gaps.

Airtel is the third private network to launch 3G services in India, after Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices. The two state-owned networks, BSNL and MTNL launched their 3G networks before the private licences were auctioned off.

Last year, Airtel awarded 3G network contracts to Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks.