Airtel announces 5G ready network with live 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel today announced a 5G ready network becoming India’s first teleco to successfully demonstrate and orchestrate LIVE 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city. The company did this over liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (Non Stand Alone) network technology.

The dynamic spectrum sharing allowed Airtel to seamlessly operate 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block with the demonstration emphatically validating the 5G readiness of Airtel’s network across all domains – Radio, Core, and Transport.

Airtel 5G is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency, and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies. In Hyderabad, users were able to download a full length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone. The demonstration underlines the country’s technology capabilities. The full impact of 5G experience will be available to Airtel customers when adequate spectrum is available and government approvals are received.

“I am very proud of our engineers who have worked tirelessly to showcase this incredible capability in Tech City, Hyderabad today. Every one of our investments is future-proofed as this game changing test in Hyderabad proves. 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. We believe India has the potential to become a global hub for 5G innovation. To make that happen we need the eco system to come together – applications, devices and network innovation. We are more than ready to do our bit.”

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel now has the ability to operate 5G over its existing technology in mid-bands (1800/2100/2300 MHz) and sub-GHz bands (800/900 MHz) over dynamic spectrum sharing technologies. If permitted, Airtel can operate 5G and 4G dynamically within the same spectrum block and deploy 5G in a matter of months. The technology capability along with future spectrum allocations in 3.5 GHz will enable Airtel to deliver a truly world-class 5G experience to customers.

Airtel 5G is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency, and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies. The company noted that it can switch on 5G through simple software upgrades over the existing network infrastructure with virtually no change in radio assets and antennas and no major increase in operational costs, it will allow Airtel to roll-out 5G fast and wide.

The demonstration validates Airtel’s network’s 5G readiness while future proofing Airtel’s network investments and making its technology netural spectrum assets fully capable of delivering 5G. The company if permitted can by the authorities can start 5G in a matter of months. As of today, over 20 commercial 5G phones are available in India for Airtel 5G.

Details of the Airtel’s 5G test setup