The advent of Reliance Jio completely transformed the telecom landscape in India. Jio emerged as the number one telecom network in India trampling other networks by offering free voice calls and free data. However, the only network which could withstand the onslaught of Jio to an extent has been Airtel. Now the data competition that began with 4G has given rise to 5G network. On the other hand, the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio had announced launching the 5G network in India by the second half of 2021. Now, making an initial move the Sunil Mittal led network has utilised the 4G spectrum (1800 MHz) bands to live test the 5G network. Airtel showcased the technology with the help of Non-Stand-Alone network (NSA) which helps add 5G networks to existing 4G network infrastructure.
Airtel 5G
The Airtel 5G speeds are ten times faster than current network technologies, which means a movie can be downloaded on a 5G phone in seconds. Airtel claims to be able to operate 5G and 4G networks from a single spectrum block if approved by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). In addition, 5G will be available in a few months. For the live 5G demonstration in Hyderabad, Airtel used ‘Oppo Reno 5 Pro’ and ‘OPPO Find X2 Pro’ smartphones.
