Airtel said its ‘5G Plus’ service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in India
Indian operator Bharti Airtel continues to rapidly expand its 5G footprint in the country with the launch of 5G in 125 cities across the Asian nation.
In a release, the Indian carrier said its “Airtel 5G Plus” service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in India.
Randeep Sekhon, CTO,Bharti Airtel said: “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus.”
The executive also noted that the telco is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas in India by March 2024.
Earlier this week, the Asian carrier announced it had reached 10 million 5G subscribers across India, with 1 million 5G subscribers in Mumbai alone. Airtel, which had initially started offering 5G in October 2022, had reached 1 million 5G customers across its entire network in November last year.
The company’s CEO, Gopal Vittal, recently said that Bharti Airtel aims to provide 5G services in 300 cities across the country by March next year.
The executive also said that Airtel would use its 5G services to bolster its high-value postpaid business. To achieve this, Airtel has already identified the top 150 cities that represent 40% of the domestic mobile market.
In October 2022, Bharti Airtel launched 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi.
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 carrier 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 300 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 2022. Jio is offering 5G through a Standalone (SA) network architecture.
Last year, Reliance Jio Infocomm announced 5G contracts with 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.
