CHENNAI: Bharti Airtel has announced that it is ready to begin rolling out 5G mobile networks, with the spectrum auction now complete after seven days of aggressive bidding. The auction concluded this week with carriers spending a total of $19 billion. The telecom giant has partnered with Sweden’s Ericsson, Finland’s Nokia and South Korea’s Samsung to help it with the rollout and infrastructure.
"Over the past year, Airtel has led the industry and spearheaded 5G technology in India testing several use cases with multiple partners at many locations. From demonstrating India’s first 5G experience over a live 4G network in Hyderabad to India’s first rural 5G trial to the first cloud gaming experience on 5G to the successful deployment of India’s first captive private network on the trial spectrum, Airtel has created and nurtured a vibrant ecosystem of partners and start-ups to support faster adoption of next-generation technologies," said, their official statement.
The company has spent ₹431 billion ($5.45 billion) to acquire spectrum in the 900Mhz, 1,800MHz, 2,100Mhz and 3,300MHz bands for sub-6GHz 5G and in the 26GHz band for mmWave. Most of its spectrum is located in the 3,300MHz and 26GHz bands. The company acquired a total of 19.8GHz in spectrum and has secured the rights for the next 20 years.
“We are delighted to announce that Airtel will commence roll out of 5G services in August. Our network agreements are finalized and Airtel will work with the best technology partners from across the world to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity to our consumers. India’s transition into a digital economy will be led by telecom and 5G presents a game-changing opportunity to drive the digital transformation of industries, enterprises and the socio-economic development of India,” said, Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Airtel.
Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio also purchased 5G spectrum, spending $2.4 billion for 6.2GHz and $11.2 billion for 24.7GHz, respectively. The Adani Group also bought a small proportion of spectrum. They are working on launching their own next-gen networks.
Key cities in India will receive the service ahead of others. Smartphone makers have been selling 5G capable phones in the country for a while now and their users will finally get to experience next-gen connectivity.
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