Kolkata, April 10 : Telecom major Bharti Airtel Tuesday launched broadband wireless access (BWA) services based on 4G technology here.

With this launch, the firm became the first player to launch the 4G service in India.

The high speed service was inaugurated here by union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal.

A successor to the 3G and 2G families, 4G is expected to be five times quicker than 3G services. It would offer services such as high-definition mobile TV and video conferencing.

Airtel , which had bagged BWA spectrum in four telecom circles -- Kolkata, Maharastra, Punjab and Karnataka -- for Rs. 3,314.36 crore in 2010, selected Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE to manage its services in Kolkata. The other players are yet to announce plans to rollout 4G services.(IANS)