Bharti Airtel, one of the largest cellular services provider in India, is all set to get into the WiFi market by launching hotspots across the nation.

Airtel plans to launch more than 1000 hotspots across the nation by end of 2010, however, the service will only be accessible by current Airtel Broadband subscribers initially. Currently, Tata Communications are the market leaders in this segment with over 500 hotspots across the nation in strategic places like hotels, airports and cafes.

Airtel WiFi hotspots will be strategically located at leading premium hotels, hospitals, chains of restaurants, coffee shops and corporate buildings that are the hub of corporate, community and social activities. For us, this is an initiative to increase customer stickiness and enhance average revenue per user (ARPU) of our broadband customer base.

The WiFi hotspots will be useful to people who are on the go, however, it has stiff competition from data cards which are hugely popular right now.

Airtel’s move in the WiFi market is a good one though, as it will allows users to stay connected wherever they go, however it would be good to see how much of an impact this makes.

Pricing plans for access are not yet available, however, it should be in an affordable range, considering that both Tata is already there, and BSNL is in plans to roll out a similar service.

We will update this post, as and when new information about pricing and more details on locations are available.