Airtel on Thursday announced that it has become the country’s first telco to successfully demonstrate and orchestrate live 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city. Airtel noted that it did this over its existing liberalized spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (Non-Stand Alone) network technology. The telco further noted that it used a “first of its kind, dynamic spectrum sharing to operate 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block.” This demonstration has emphatically validated the 5G readiness of Airtel’s network across all domains – Radio, Core, and Transport.
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Airtel claims that 5G will be capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency, and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies. It noted that in Hyderabad, users were able to download a full-length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone, a demonstration that has underlined the company’s technology capabilities. The full impact of the 5G experience, however, will be available to Airtel’s customers, when the adequate spectrum is available and government approvals are received. users will not be required to switch SIM cards when the network is available for them.
“What we’ve really done is first of its kind dynamic spectrum sharing between both 4G and 5G on the 1800 Mhz band concurrently within the same spectrum block. We have proven that our network is now fully ready for 5G,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel, said during a press conference.
He added that the company will be able to switch on 5G at any point using the existing spectrum like they have done in Hyderabad once the government approvals are received. However, “we will get the true power of 5G when we get the spectrum in the mid-band, at which point in a matter of months we can actually roll out and make sure that 5G is available in as many parts of India as relevant,” Mr.Vittal said.
Rival telco Reliance Jio, led by Mukesh Ambani, had earlier hinted that the company will be introducing its 5G services powered by the indigenously developed network, hardware, and technology components in the second half of 2021.
“With Airtel being the first operator to demonstrate this capability, we have shown again that we have always been the first in India to pioneer new technologies in our quest for empowering Indians everywhere,” Mr. Vittal said, adding that India has the potential to become a global hub for 5G innovation.
