Airtel has announced that it will start the 5G network in India by the end of August. The telecom giant has signed 5G network agreements with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung to start 5G deployment in August 2022. Airtel will be the first telecom giant to roll out 5G services in India.
The company had a long association with Ericsson and Nokia but Samsung has recently been added to the list. Airtel was a part of the spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecommunications. In which the telecom giant bid for a 19867.8 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequencies.
Talking about the launch of 5G services in India, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Airtel said, “We are pleased to announce that Airtel will launch 5G services in August. Our network agreements have been finalized and Airtel will work with the best technology.”
Airtel is set to become the first among three telecom operators in India to test 5G networks. The telecom company conducted multiple trials at several locations with multiple partners. The company also showcased India’s first 5G experience on the live 4G network in Hyderabad.
Moreover, Airtel also conducted India’s first rural 5G trial and also tested the first cloud gaming experience on 5G for the successful deployment of India’s first captive private network on the trial spectrum.
Meanwhile, about 71 percent of the 5G spectrum was sold in the recently concluded 5G spectrum auction. After the completion of the process, Telecom Minister Ashwini said that out of the total spectrum put up for auction, 71% spectrum has been sold.
However, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio was at the top of the bidders to further cement its leadership position, the report said. Reliance Jio has purchased a total of 24,740Mhz spectrum. Reliance has placed bids for 700Mhz, 800Mhz, 1800Mhz, 3300Mhz, and 26Ghz spectrum.