Sunil Mittal-led Airtel has partnered with Alphabet, Google's parent company, to test the delivery of high-speed internet services in India's rural and remote regions using a novel laser technology that uses light beams.
"Airtel and Alphabet have run pilots and successfully tested the new internet technology in various key locations across India," said a top Bharti executive.
The most recent laser internet technology was developed at Alphabet's X innovation lab in California, and the project is known internally as Taara. It uses light beams to provide speedy internet access. According to Alphabet's website, Project Taara, like fibre but without the wires, uses light to carry information at super fast speeds through air in the form of an extremely tiny, invisible beam.
An X spokeswoman confirmed the agreement with Airtel, saying it is the largest deployment of Taara's wireless optical communications lines with a single customer (read: Airtel) in India to date.
"The teams will be working closely together to install these links in both rural and urban settings across the country," an X spokeswoman told in a written response. X is a division of Alphabet, Google's parent company that consists of inventors and entrepreneurs who create and launch cutting-edge technology to enhance people's lives around the world.