Bharti Airtel has launched a 5G trial network in Gurgaon, more than a month after the Indian government approved telecom operators to test next-generation cellular network technology. The telco is offering 5G network at a maximum speed of 1 Gbps or higher. The site currently being tested operates in the 3500 MHz frequency band. Earlier this year, Airtel demonstrated a 5G network using open spectrum in the 1800 MHz frequency band.
5G test network is currently running at CyberHub in Gurgaon. Airtel is conducting the trials in collaboration with Swedish equipment maker Ericsson.
It is clear to us that Airtel is planning to conduct a similar test in Mumbai within a few days after the initial trial.
Airtel provided 5G network with speeds of over 1 Gbps during the trial period. This is much faster than the users generally using 4G network in the country.
According to Ookla, India is ranked 130th in terms of global mobile Internet speeds with an average download speed of 12.81 Mbps and a download speed of 4.79 Mbps.
Currently, Airtel customers will not be able to use the 5G network during the trial period, even if they have a compatible smartphone, as government regulations do not allow end-users to test. The equipment used by operators for such tests also requires the manufacturer to provide specific software updates to test them before the network goes public.
In May this year, the government allowed operators such as Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea, as well as equipment makers Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung, to conduct 5G trials domestically. Airtel received trial 5G spectrum in the 3500 MHz, 28 GHz, and 700 MHz bands in Delhi / NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore.
Unlike Airtel, in terms of its user base, Jio, the country's largest operator, has yet to conduct official 5G trials in the country.
Last year, a Mumbai-based operator promised to work with Qualcomm to test 5G on a large scale. They are also working with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to support national 5G networks for telecommunications equipment.
Last December, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Jio would launch 5G services by the end of 2021.
In January, Airtel claimed to be the first telecom company in the country to successfully roll out 5G services on the commercial network of Hyderabad. The operators claim to have demonstrated the use of open spectrum in the 1800 MHz frequency band through non-standalone (NSA) network technology.
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