Bharti Airtel is currently offering 5G coverage in 70 cities across India
Indian operator Bharti Airtel aims to provide 5G services in 300 cities across the country by March 2024, compared to the current 70, local press reported, citing the company’s CEO Gopal Vittal.
“We are already seeing traffic offloads happening from 4G to 5G in some areas, and this is where we will go with 5G,” Vittal said during the telco’s fiscal third quarter earnings call.
The executive also said that Airtel would use its 5G services as a pivot to grow its high-value postpaid business. To achieve this, the telco has already identified the top 150 cities that represent 40% of the domestic mobile market.
Vittal also said the expansion of 5G services into rural areas will hinge upon the adoption of 5G smartphones in those markets. “The rollout is going to happen across urban India by March 2024, the pace of the rollout beyond urban India is something that will be dictated by how the 5G devices shape out,” he said, noting that 5G-enabled smartphones currently represent 11% of India’s total smartphone base, which could rise to 20% by March 2024.
“We have to look at where the devices are likely to come over the next 6-9 months and plan a rollout, in addition to the coverage that we will provide in whichever cities that we have decided to go,” Vittal said.
Vittal also noted that in cities like Delhi, 15% of total smartphones are 5G-ready, while in states like Bihar, the penetration of 5G smartphones is just about 9%.
In October 2022, Bharti Airtel launched 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi.
The carrier aims to launch 5G in the city of Kolkata in the near future, according to local press reports.
Airtel noted that its 5G Plus services will be available to customers in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network across the country.
The Indian operator is currently using equipment from Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to provide 5G services. The Indian operator had secured a total of 19,800 megahertz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands in a recent auction carried out by the Indian government.
Rival operator Reliance Jio Infocomm recently said its 5G service is already active in 225 cities across India.
Jio is offering the 5G connectivity on an invitational basis, with users living in 5G-enabled cities who have 5G compatible smartphones receiving invitations.
The telco had initially announced the launch of the beta trial of its 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi in October. Jio is offering 5G through a Standalone network architecture.
Last year, Reliance Jio Infocomm announced 5G contracts with Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia. The deal with Ericsson marked the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for Radio Access Network deployment in the country.
Reliance Jio had previously secured a mix of wireless spectrum for 5G across 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands. Jio is the only operator with the 700 MHz low-band spectrum.
