Airtel announces 5G-ready network

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it has become the country's first telecom operator to successfully demonstrate and orchestrate live 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city.
In a statement, Airtel said that it has done this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (non-standalone) network technology.

"Using a first-of-its-kind dynamic spectrum sharing, Airtel seamlessly operated 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," it said.

As per the company, Airtel 5G is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency and 100x concurrency when compared with existing technologies.

Specifically, in Hyderabad, users were able to download a full-length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone, it added.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel said: "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," Vittal said. - IANS