Airtel 5G pan-India rollout to take pace by March 2024

Bharti Airtel last week announced that it has signed 5G network agreements with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to commence 5G deployment in August 2022. Now, the telecom giant has claimed to rollout 5G network for 5,000 towns pan India, with an aim to achieve a pan-India rollout by March 2024. “We intend to launch 5G starting in August and extend to a pan-India rollout very soon. By March 2024 we believe we will be able to cover every town and key rural areas as well with 5G. In fact detailed network rollout plans for 5000 towns in India are completely in place,” Gopal Vittal, MD Airtel said.

“This will be one of the biggest rollouts in our history. While our 3-year capex will remain around the same levels this rapid rollout could see some advancement of CAPEX on an in year basis. With the combination of fiber to the tower, synergies from fiber to the home and the availability of E-band micro wave spectrum, every site we roll out will be backhaul ready to provide 5G experience in line with what is needed to deliver a world class experience,” Vittal mentioned.

Airtel has had a long-standing relationship for connectivity and Pan-India managed services with Ericsson and Nokia while the partnership with Samsung will begin this year onwards. The 5G partnerships follow closely on the heels of spectrum auctions conducted by the Department of Telecom in India, where Airtel bid for and acquired 19867.8 MHZ spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency Also Read – 5G rollout in India expected to begin in October, says IT minister

“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,” Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Airtel said in a statement. Also Read – 5G Spectrum Auction Day 2 ends with intense fight between Jio, Airtel

Choice of multiple partners will enable Airtel to roll out 5G services spanning ultra-high-speeds, low latency and large data handling capabilities, which will enable a superior user experience and allow the pursuit of new, innovative use cases with enterprise and industry customers, the company claims. Also Read – 5G spectrum auction: Bids worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore received on Day 1

“We look forward to supporting Bharti Airtel with its deployment of 5G in India. With Ericsson’s unrivalled, global 5G deployment experience, we will help Bharti Airtel deliver the full benefits of 5G to Indian consumers and enterprises, while seamlessly evolving the Bharti network from 4G to 5G. 5G will enable India to realize its Digital India vision and foster inclusive development of the country,” Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson noted.

The multi-year deal will see Nokia provide equipment from its AirScale portfolio along with solutions and services for network management, deployment, planning and optimization services. Airtel will also bring in South Korean Major Samsung as a network partner to deploy Airtel 5G. This is the first time that both companies will work together.

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