Airtel Crosses 1 Million Users on its 5G Network in Mumbai

Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced that it surpassed one million 5G unique subscribers in Mumbai alone, indicating strong uptake of its next-generation telecom network. Earlier, the company had announced 10 million unique subscribers across the country.

Airtel had the headstart over rival Reliance Jio in the 5G rollout and was the first to roll out 5G in Mumbai, apart from seven other cities in October. Ever since, it has garnered a million users on its non-standalone 5G network, which relies on the same 4G infrastructure at its core.

Airtel Hits 1 million subs in Mumbai

The one million mark follows the rapid rollout of 5G networks in the financial capital. Airtel is relying on non-standalone infrastructure, which reduces the cost of rollout. The company spent Rs 8,312 crore to purchase the 5G spectrum during the auctions held in July last year.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Airtel is expected to spend Rs 66,000 crores to reach 85% of 5G coverage across the country by 2027, citing a research report from ICICI securities.

In Mumbai, Airtel 5G is available in key urban centers such as The Gateway of India, Nariman Point, Film City, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai Metro junctions of Ghatkopar, and Andheri, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), among others.

Users have reported speeds of up to 1Gbps on the 5G network.

Airtel's 5G network is available now in over 140 cities across the country, with the company expected to cover the entire country by March 2024. Airtel, India's second-largest telecom company, recently surpassed the 10 million unique subscriber mark nationally on its 5G network.

Nearly all 5G smartphones support Airtel's non-standalone 5G network, with most models added support by the end of 2022, including Apple iPhones.

5G connectivity is expected to take off even more as the adoption of 5G smartphones is expected to increase, with analysts forecasting shipment of 5G devices to surpass 4G smartphones by the end of the year.

In the last year, Airtel has demonstrated multiple use cases of 5G, such as the first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru and partnering with Mahindra and Mahindra at its Chakan manufacturing facility for automobiles.