Bharti Airtel, currently the leading operator in India, agreed to acquire Tikona Digital Networks’ 4G business, including its broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum and 350 sites in five telecom circles.

Tikona currently has 20MHz of spectrum in the 2300MHz band in the regions of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (which comprises two circles: east and west), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

Airtel plans to roll-out high speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in these regions immediately after the closure of the transaction.

The operator’s move comes days after Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular agreed to merge their Indian operations, which will create the country’s largest mobile operator with a 37 per cent market share.

Airtel will undertake the acquisition in Gujarat, Utar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, while in the Rajasthan circle it will be conducted through a subsidiary called Bharti Hexacom.

“The proposed acquisition will enable Airtel to fill BWA spectrum gaps in the 2300MHz band” in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, “thereby securing a pan India footprint in the band,” the operator announced in a statement.

“Post completion of the deal, Airtel will have 30MHz in the 2300MHz band in 13 circles giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand,” it added.

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO for India and South Asia at Bharti Airtel, said: “We believe that combining our capacities in TD-LTE and FD-LTE will further bolster our network, and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers.”

The acquisition is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.

Vodafone attempted to acquire Tikona’s 2300MHz spectrum in December 2015, but was unsuccessful, The Economic Times reported at the time. Vodafone then went on to acquire cable company You Broadband for INR4 billion a year ago, as it sought to boost its fixed line proposition.

Tikona had planned to provide 4G broadband services in the first half of 2016 in 30 cities, but these plans were abandoned.