NEW DELHI: Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel will start its 5G services within a month and by December the company will cover key metro cities, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal said on Friday.
In a letter to the customer, Vittal said the the company will cover urban India by 2023. “We expect to launch our 5G services within a month. By December, we should have coverage in key metros. After that we will expand rapidly to cover the entire country. We expect to cover all of urban India by the end of 2023,” said Vittal in the letter.
Vittal further said Airtel 5G will deliver significantly higher speeds as compared to a 4G network. According to him, it could be anywhere between 20 to 30 times the speed of 4G network. This will allow a user to boot up an application or download a heavy file in no time.
“Airtel 5G will also enable differential quality for special requirements, something called network slicing. So, if you are a gamer, and want a flawless experience, we will be able to slice the network for you. Or if you are working from home and want a consistent experience, we will deliver it for you,” said the CEO of the telecom service provider.
India’s second-largest telecom service provider spent Rs 43,040 crore in 5G spectrum auction to acquire 19867.8 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz frequency bands. Unlike its competitor Reliance Jio, Airtel gave a miss to the coveted 700 MHz airwave, which can provide 6-10 kilometres of signal range with one tower, and forms a good base for 5G.
The country’s largest telecom service provider Reliance Jio will roll out its 5G services in India by Diwali. The company pledged to invest Rs 2 lakh crore for 5G services. The debt-laden Vodafone Idea is yet to spell its 5G plans.