Bharti Airtel pips RJio to

announce 5G readiness
OUR BUREAU According to analysts, Airtel
New Delhi, January 28 is aiming to position itself as
Bharti Airtel on Thursday said the lead 5G service provider
it is 5G ready and now awaits before Reliance Jio makes a
government approval and move. Mukesh Ambani, Chair-
spectrum availability for the man, Jio, had announced that
services. The company has be- the company would launch
come the country’s first telco 5G services using its own tech-
to successfully nology in the
demonstrate a second half of
Y
Z
live 5G service, do- 2021.
ing so over a com- Airtel carried
mercial network out the demon-
in Hyderabad. stration over its
“We've been existing liberal-
working at this ised spectrum in
for the last one the 1800 MHz
year to make sure band through the
we are able to Non Stand Alone
demonstrate to network
ourselves and to technology.
the world at large, “We need to get the Airtel 5G is cap-
that our network right 5G experience, able of delivering
is fully 5G ready. for which adequate 10x speeds, 10x
And in many ways spectrum and the latency and 100x
now, it's a flick of a right bands need to concurrency. In
button to actually be made available.” Hyderabad, users
turn on 5G,” said GOPAL VITTAL were able to down-
Gopal Vittal, MD MD and CEO, Airtel Z
Y
load a full length
and CEO, Airtel. movie in seconds
The company partnered on a 5G phone, it said.
with Ericsson to demonstrate
the service with around 20 Price points
devices of Chinese handset Asked if Airtel will charge
maker Oppo. “We need to get premium rates for its 5G ser-
the right 5G experience, for vices, Vittal said it is too early,
which adequate spectrum but added that the average
and the right bands need to be revenue per user in India ‘is
made available. But today, blissfully low and does need
we've conclusively demon- to rise...first it needs to go up
strated Airtel is 5G ready,” he to ₹200, then finally up to
said. ₹300 over a period of time’.