Airtel Plans To Upgrade 4G Network To Offer 5G Services In India

Airtel is likely to use 4G infrastructure to offer 5G services in the country. The telecom operator is expected to launch 5G services in the coming months. This will happen after receiving the spectrum via auction, which might take place by the end of this year or next year. Notably, Non- standalone (NSA) is the first technology, which might allow telecom operators to launch the 5G technology. Besides, the telecom operator has to invest in 3.5 GHz to launch the commercial services.

What Is NSA 5G Technology?

According to sources, Non- standalone technology is important for the 5G network. The NSA technology offers low latency up to 10 milliseconds, which will support smart factories, machine-to-machine functions, and augmented reality. The NSA technology allows telecom operators to use their 4G technology and will reduce the cost.

Reliance Jio Might Use Standalone 5G Technology

Notably, Reliance Jio is planning to launch 5G services soon. However, it plans to use a direct standalone 5G network. The telecom operator is likely to skip non-standalone 5G technology and likely to invest $5-$6 billion for the deployment.

"To move to 5G standalone, however, its incremental investment in the network (how aggressively it will bid for spectrum is not known) would be far lower than what it forked out earlier," sources were quoted by Business Standard.

Furthermore, the telecom operator submitted its trial application of 5G technology in two locations. The telecom operator is planning to start trials in South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai areas. It is worth noting that Reliance Jio joined hands with Samsung to conduct the trials. Besides, India's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio plans to join hands with Nokia and Ericsson. Apart from conducting trials with Samsung in Mumbai, Reliance Jio might conduct trials in Pune, Delhi, and Haryana.

Vi (Vodafone-Idea) Plans For The 5G

India's third-largest telecom operator Vi (Vodafone-Idea) has announced its plans to start trials with Nokia and Ericsson in Gujarat and Pune. Also, Vodafone-Idea announced that it is also planning to join hands with US-based Mavenir for the trials. For the unaware, Mavenir is running 5G trials in several cities in the country.