Huawei to manage Bharti Airtel's 4G network in Karnataka

New Delhi, May 1 (IANS) Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Tuesday said it will deploy and manage Bharti Airtel's 4G network in Karnataka.

"Bharti Airtel's 4G LTE deployed on Huawei's TD LTE technology will allow subscribers to experience high speed wireless internet access that can support bandwidth intensive applications, support video streaming and high-definition video conferencing," Huawei said in a statement.

"Under this agreement, Huawei will deliver the LTE solution comprising of network infrastructure and devices," it added.

4G is a successor to the 3G and 2G families, and is said to be five times quicker than 3G services.

Airtel had bagged Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in four circles -- Kolkata, Maharastra, Punjab and Karnataka -- for Rs.3,314.36 crore in 2010.

It launched the service in Kolkata last month with another Chinese company ZTE.

"High speed wireless broadband has the potential to transform India, providing a robust platform for building the country's digital economy," said Sanjay Kapoor, chief executive officer Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia).

"According to industry estimates, mobile data traffic in the country will increase nearly 100-fold by 2015 and consumers will stream nearly 600 hours of video content," he added.

Reliance Infotel, earlier known as Infotel Broadband Services, which won a pan-India licence for BWA spectrum, is yet to announce its roll-out plans for 4G services.

Other firms which have won spectrum in the auction include Qualcomm, Tikona, Aircel and Augere.