MUMBAI: Vodafone India said on Friday it would launch fourth-generation (4G) mobile phone services in the country by the end of the year, joining rival Bharti Airtel in offering faster data services.

India’s telecommunications market is bracing for heated competition from Reliance Jio, the telecoms unit of conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, as it prepares to offer 4G services starting in December.

Mobile phone carriers in India, the world’s second-biggest market by number of customers, have spent billions of dollars on buying telecom airwaves to meet surging demand for data services.

Vodafone India acquired additional 4G spectrum in five circles in the country, in the February 2014 auctions.