Telecom companies are preparing to roll out 5G services in India when the 5G spectrum auctions are over. In this post, I will tell you all about Airtel 5G debut in India. We just released a comprehensive guide on Jio’s 5G launch.
We have gathered all the materials for you, from the Airtel 5G launch date to the 5G bands supported in India, download speeds, and a list of Airtel 5G towns. So, with that in mind, let’s discover more about Airtel 5G’s advances in India and the anticipated launch date for its 5G network.
Also, Read... Jio 5G in India: Launch Date, Bands, Supported Cities, Download Speed, Plans, & More
Airtel 5G Launch in India: All You Need to Know
In this post, we will go through Airtel 5G launch information in India, its 5G bands, which cities will be the first to get Airtel 5G, and more. Aside from that, we’ve included Airtel’s 5G download speeds and the 5G internet plans that will be available to subscribers. Simply expand the table below and navigate to the desired area.
Airtel 5G Spectrum: 5G Bands in India
Airtel performed a good job of securing 5G spectrums from all types of frequency bands in the most recent 5G auction held in India. After Reliance Jio, Airtel paid Rs 43,084 crores to acquire 19.8 GHz of the 5G spectrum. In particular, Airtel purchased the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz 5G bands in India.
Airtel did not compete for the lower 700MHz frequency band for the following reason: the company’s CEO, Gopal Vittal, indicated that Airtel chose to focus on obtaining the greatest pool of mid-band spectrum. It also eschewed the 700 MHz spectrum since it would be more expensive to acquire and install, terrible for the environment owing to increased power consumption and carbon emissions, and provide no further advantage in terms of speed.
For only three circles—Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, and the North East—Airtel has purchased a few tranches of 900MHz frequency bands. In 12 separate circles, Airtel has acquired the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands in the lower sub-6GHz frequency spectrum. And Airtel has fully committed to the mid-band sub-6GHz spectrum by purchasing 100MHz in each of the 22 circles in the 3300MHz frequency range.
Additionally, Airtel has accomplished a remarkable feat in getting the top-tier, ultra-fast, 26GHz band in all 22 circles. The business has acquired 800MHz in the 26GHz frequency range, fiercely competing with Jio, it’s opponent. Here is a thorough breakdown of Airtel’s 5G spectrum usage throughout India’s 22 regulatory regions.
| Circle | 900MHz | 1800MHz | 2100MHz | 3300MHz | 26GHz |
| Andhra Pradesh | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Assam | 3.8 | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Bihar | – | – | 5 | 100 | 800 |
| Delhi | – | – | 5 | 100 | 800 |
| Gujrat | – | – | 5 | 100 | 800 |
| Haryana | – | – | 5 | 100 | 800 |
| Himachal Pradesh | – | 5 | – | 100 | 800 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 5 | – | 100 | 800 | |
| Karnataka | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Kerala | – | 5 | 100 | 800 | |
| Kolkata | – | 5 | – | 100 | 800 |
| Madhya Pradesh | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Maharashtra | – | 5 | – | 100 | 800 |
| Mumbai | – | 4 | – | 100 | 800 |
| North-East | 4 | – | – | 130 | 800 |
| Odisha | – | 5.2 | – | 100 | 800 |
| Punjab | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Rajasthan | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Tamil Nadu | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| Uttar Pradesh (East) | – | 0.8 | – | 100 | 800 |
| Uttar Pradesh (West) | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
| West Bengal | – | – | – | 100 | 800 |
Airtel 5G: SA or NSA Network?
Almost all telecom operators in India and throughout the world are adopting the NSA architecture since it is less expensive and easier to implement. It essentially exploits the current 4G infrastructure to provide 5G services. Furthermore, Airtel is utilising DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) to exchange spectrum between 4G and 5G bands.
Due to the high deployment costs associated with SA 5G, telecom operators have so far been hesitant to use this design. Gopal Vittal, the CEO of Airtel, stated that a software upgrade may convert the company’s 5G NSA infrastructure to SA 5G.
To shift the 4G EPC to the 5G core, it appears as if Airtel will virtualize it. Nevertheless, Airtel 5G will initially also be built using NSA technology. Airtel may upgrade its current 5G network to SA 5G as time goes on.
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Airtel 5G Launch Date in India
Airtel revealed in an official announcement that it will begin 5G deployment in August 2022 alongside telecom vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung. In the same breath, Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Airtel, stated, “We are happy to announce that Airtel will begin rolling out 5G services in August.”
Airtel is expected to deploy its 5G services by the end of August 2022. However, bear in mind that the deployment will be gradual, with big cities receiving 5G services first. Vittal went on to say that it will reach all towns and rural regions by March 2024.
Airtel 5G Supported Circles and Cities
According to reports, Airtel’s 5G services would reportedly debut in the following Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.
However, according to a different recent study, not all cities will have access to 5G services by August. You will then need to wait a few more months, maybe till the end of September or October, to use Airtel’s 5G network in big cities. A 5G network deployment strategy for more than 5000 locations throughout India has already been provided in detail by Airtel.
Airtel 5G circles are as follows: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mumbai, North East, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), West Bengal. However, you must wait until March 2024 to enjoy Airtel’s 5G network in all parts of India.
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Airtel 5G Plans and Price in India
It appears that the first cost of Airtel’s 5G services would be rather more than average. Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) is about Rs. 183, but it has also been impacted by AGR obligations that total thousands of crores.
Airtel could provide a competitive 5G service at first, but anticipate that it would be pricey, costing roughly Rs 500 per month. We will be able to provide you with additional information on the price structure of Airtel 5G services once they go live in India.
Do You Need a New Airtel 5G SIM?
Airtel has not yet confirmed that a new 5G SIM card would be required to access its 5G network. In reality, no other Indian telecom company has said that a 5G SIM card is necessary.
You may use your 4G Airtel SIM to connect to the 5G network. We have created a full post on whether you need a new 5G SIM to use 5G services, so read it for more details.
Airtel 5G Download/ Upload Speeds
Airtel has conducted several 5G testing in a variety of frequency bands and setups. Airtel recorded download speeds of about 340Mbps and upload speeds of 67Mbps in the mid-band 1800MHz frequency range using NSA (Non-standalone) architecture with DSS support.
With a higher frequency band and SA design, Airtel says it can provide up to 1Gbps of download speed with an indoor latency of about 20ms. The business also conducted testing in Hyderabad in 2021, and the download speed there was an astounding 3Gbps.
Other testing sites, such as Gurugram and Mumbai, had download speeds of up to 1Gbps on the 3500MHz frequency range. Having said that, keep in mind that the testing was conducted in isolation, without numerous users or traffic surges. So, it remains to be seen how well Airtel’s 5G network functions in real-world usage.
Wrapping Up
That’s all there is to know about the debut of Airtel’s 5G network in India. According to the spectrum acquisition, Airtel appears to have a significant presence in the sub-6GHz and mmWave frequency bands, which are practically identical to Jio’s 5G network coverage.
That’s all we’ve got. In this essay, I hope you will learn everything you need to know about Airtel 5G. Please spread the word about Airtel’s future 5G service by sharing this content. Finally, please leave your questions in the comments area below. Thank you for reading!