NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced that it has successfully conducted India’s first 5G trial in the 700 MHz band in partnership with Nokia. The company informed it conducted the trial after it was allotted test spectrum in multiple bands by the government's Department of Telecommunications for the validation of 5G technology and use cases.
They conducted the test on the outskirts of Kolkata, which was also the first 5G trial in Eastern India. "Back in 2012, Airtel launched India's first 4G service in Kolkata. Today, we are delighted to conduct India’s first 5G demo in the coveted 700 MHz band in the city to showcase the power of this technology standard," said Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Singh Sekhon.
Airtel used equipment from Nokia's 5G portfolio, which included Nokia AirScale radios and standalone (SA) core. "Leveraging the enhanced propagation characteristics of the 700 MHz band, Airtel and Nokia were able to achieve high-speed wireless broadband network coverage of 40 Km between two 3GPP standard 5G sites in real-life conditions," he said.