To free up 2G and 3G spectrum for mobile telephony, companies such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Aircel are planning to shift a part of their data services to Wi-Fi hotspots, says news reports.
This is being undertaken to accommodate the growing use of mobile broadband amongst consumers.
Meanwhile, these companies have already taken steps towards achieving this. Bharti Airtel, for example, has set up more than 1,000 hot spots in nearly three cities across India, thereby leaving a greater proportion of its 2G spectrum vacant for voice traffic.
Idea Cellular too plans to establish multiple Wi-Fi hotspots, as its existing spectrum is being used to accommodate increasing voice and data traffic.
Similarly, Aircel plans to commercially offer Wi-Fi for its subscribers by early 2013.
