Bharti Airtel Steals A March On 5G Rivals, Conducts Live Testing Of Service

Exhibiting its 5G prowess, Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it had successfully conducted a live demonstration of 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city.

The company said the full impact of the 5G experience would be available to Airtel customers when adequate spectrum is available and government approvals received.

Gopal Vittal, managing director and chief executive officer of Bharti Airtel, said, “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.”

The demonstration in Hyderabad was conducted over an existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 megahertz (MHz) band.

ALSO READ: Bharti Airtel tops Nov user additions, increases base to 335 mn: Trai data

Vittal said India has the potential to become a global hub for 5G innovation and this would require the coming together of the ecosystem — applications, devices, and network innovation. He added that Airtel was “more than ready” to do its bit.

The company seamlessly operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block.

Though Airtel has started testing 5G services, the spectrum for this has been kept out of the auctions proposed to be held in March.

Earlier this month, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) released a notice inviting applications for spectrum auctions in seven bands — 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500MHz. The bidding is scheduled to begin on March 1.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for the auction of 2,251.25 MHz of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 trillion at the base price.

Telecom operators will need to submit applications for participating in the auction by February 5.

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor