Bharti Airtel said it will add 13,000 new mobile sites and introduce a key element of 5G technology in Karnataka in the next six months as part of its network upgrade.
It also plans to add 4,500 km of optic fiber within the state in the same time period.
As part of the upgrade, it will deploy Massive MIMO technology in the state, which uses a large number of radio antennas to increase the data carrying capacity of 4G networks.
Massive MIMO expands network capacities by 5-7 times on the same spectrum, Airtel said. The company has announced similar expansions in other circles earlier.
“Airtel had recently deployed the solution at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the IPL 2018 matches and received very good feedback from customers,” it said.
It said its 4G network already covers 98% of the state’s population.
Karnataka is Airtel’s oldest 4G circle. The company deployed its 4G network in Bangalore around six years ago.
The companys has nearly 3 crore customers in the state and a coverage of 39,000 towns and villages.