Bharti Airtel is reportedly in discussions with Augere Wireless Broadband India to acquire the latter at an estimated amount of Rs 1.50 billion. The move is aimed to increase Airtel?s 4G footprint in the country.
Augere Wireless had won 20 MHz of spectrum in 2,300 MHz band in the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh circle for Rs 1.22 billion in the 2010 auctions. The company had initially announced plans of rolling out 4G services in late 2011. However, soon thereafter it decided not to go ahead with the launch, citing uncertain regulatory conditions.
Bharti Airtel currently holds spectrum in the 2300 MHz band in eight of the 22 circles across the country. The company has recently started its 4G trials in Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Bharti Airtel?s 4G services are also available across the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh and Amritsar.
