India is finally geared up to get 5G connectivity . Bharti Airtel, one of India’s major telecom operators, has launched a timeline for the next generation technology. In a press release, the operators confirmed that they would roll out 5G before the end of August.
“We are delighted to announce that Airtel will commence roll out of 5G services in August. Our network agreements are finalised and Airtel will work with the best technology partners from across the world to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity to our consumers,” read the statement from the telecom company.
Bharti Airtel has signed a deal worth Rs. 19,750 crores with Ericsson, a Sweden-based company. Nokia and Samsung will start the deployment of the next generation this month. The entry of Samsung in this deal is a result of Airtel closing its doors to the Chinese companies, Huawei and ZTE, as far as 5G deployment was concerned.
Gopal Vittal, the managing director of Airtel, stated, “Our network agreements are finalised and Airtel will work with the best technology partners from across the world to deliver the full benefits of 5G connectivity to our consumers.”
Talking about the new venture Borje Ekholm, the CEO of Ericsson said, “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.”
According to the reports, Ericsson will deploy a 5G network for 11 circles, out of the total 22. These will include places like Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan. Nokia will handle nine circles, and Samsung two.
“We are delighted that they have chosen Nokia’s best-in-class AirScale baseband and radio portfolio to deliver superior 5G performance in one of the world’s largest networks,” said Pekka Lundmark, CEO of Nokia.
India’s second-largest telecom company Reliance Jio will enter the market soon. The company stated that they are ‘fully ready’ for the rollout. Chairman of Reliance Jio Info comm, Akash Ambani, said that they will celebrate the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with a pan India 5G rollout.
In his statement, Mr. Ambani said, “Jio is committed to offering world-class, affordable 5G and 5G-enabled services. We will provide services, platforms, and solutions that will accelerate India’s digital revolution, especially in crucial sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and e-governance.”
