Airtel Conducted 5G Trials In Mumbai; Partners With Nokia

After testing the 5G network in Gurgaon, Airtel conducted upcoming technology in Mumbai's Phoenix Mall and planning to start in Kolkata soon. The company has joined hands with Nokia to conduct the trials in Mumbai on the 3500 MHz spectrum band.

Airtel 5G Trials In Mumbai Check Details

Airtel has managed to deliver 1 Gbps speed during the testing of 5G networks. Notably, Airtel was the first telecom operator that tested its 5G network in India. The company demonstrated a live network in Hyderabad on the 1800 MHz spectrum band. The telecom operator said that it is ready to launch the 5G network in the county.

Reliance Jio 5G Trials In Mumbai Check Details

This development comes soon after Reliance Jio announced trails in Mumbai via its indigenously developed equipment. However, industry sources said that the telecom operator is in talks with gear makers like Samsung, Ericsson, and Nokia.

The company will conduct trials in other cities too as it has applied for trials in Hyderabad, Gujarat, and Delhi. Reliance Jio used both mid and mmwave bands for the 5G trials.

"The network went live quickly after receiving a trial spectrum from the DoT. We are using both mid-and mm-wave bands with standalone architecture for 5G trials in Mumbai," a senior executive said.

The Department of Telecommunication had allocated 28 GHz, 3500 MHz, and 700 MHz bands to Airtel to conduct trials in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The telecom operator wants to build next-generation technology. Notably, the telecom ministry approved spectrum to Reliance Jio, MTNL, Vodafone-Idea, and Airtel for the trials.

"As opposed to rivals, our 5G trial is much bigger in terms of sites deployed in Mumbai. We will soon kick off trials in other cities and areas," he added.

It is worth noting that there are no details about the spectrum auction, which means DoT is yet to take a call on the same as the Navy said not to vacate the 100 Mhz band in 3300 MHz and 3600 MHz airwaves. This means spectrum auction will delay further as pricing and standards have been not decided by the DoT.