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Bharti Airtel Launches Pan-India 4G Services, Data Packs from Rs 25

Bharti Airtel Launches Pan-India 4G Services, Data Packs from Rs 25

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator by subscribers, on Thursday announced the commercial launch of its high speed 4G services (also called LTE) in 296 towns across India. Airtel customers can enjoy 4G at 3G data prices, with packs starting at Rs 25, the telecom operator said in a statement. Bharti Airtel had earlier launched 4G service in select cities in India. Airtel also announced tie-ups with Flipkart and Samsung for bundling 4G handsets with its services. Airtel has also launched an automated platform called Flexpage that allows customers to track their data usage and get real time usage alerts. With Flexpage, customers can also upgrade their mobile plan on the go, as and when they exhaust their monthly data quota. Under this platform, customers can opt from a range of 4G data plans, with prices starting from Rs 100. To get started on Airtel 4G, customers need to switch to a 4G SIM. Apart from Airtel stores, Samsung retail stores will also facilitate 4G SIM swaps, the telecom operator said.

"We are also doing home-delivery of SIMs for post-paid connections," said Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel. Airtel also introduced a new range of 'Infinity Plans' starting Rs.999. These plans offer unlimited voice calls along with data benefits and access to Wynk Movies and Wynk Music apps.

The number of mobile web users in India is expected to grow by around 28 per cent annually between 2013 and 2017 and reach 314 million by the end of 2017, according to a report released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and KPMG.

Earlier, Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, had announced that it would launch 4G services by year-end. Analysts say that the launch of Reliance Jio services will intensify competition in the telecom sector.

Commenting on the impending competition from the launch of Reliance Jio's services, Bhavesh Gandhi, telecom analyst at IIFL, said Bharti Airtel has a strong balance sheet to withstand a high level of competition. Also, Bharti Airtel has one of the best spectrum portfolio among telecom operators in India, he added.

Bharti Airtel shares have been one of the top gainers among Nifty stocks this year. Bharti Airtel shares have gained around 20 per cent year to date.

IIFL maintains a 'buy' rating on Bharti Airtel with a 12-month target of Rs 480. Bharti Airtel shares ended 0.60 per cent lower on Thursday as compared to a 0.30 per cent gain in Sensex.