Airtel Likely To Restrict 5G Services To Premium Plan Users

Bharti Airtel is one of the telcos that is gearing up to roll out its 5G services in India sometime this month. The pan-India rollout of 5G services is likely to happen by March 2024. Ahead of the launch of 5G services in India, there are several media reports that the Airtel 5G plans could be priced much higher than the existing 4G tariff plans in the country.

5G Services To Premium Plan Users

Now, the telco has acknowledged the same, confirming that it will indeed offer 5G connectivity with higher tariff plans. In an interview with Live Mint, Akhil Gupta, the Bharti Airtel Vice-Chairman, stated that they are looking forward to offering 5G connectivity at relatively higher pricing as compared to the 4G plans. He stated that this strategy will make 5G accessible to a vast majority of people.

Basically, the idea followed by Airtel is that 5G will offer high-speed internet connectivity to users, which will increase their data consumption requirements when it is restricted to users of premium plans. Apparently, this will drive revenues further for the telecom operator. The telco believes that anyone with a 5G smartphone will get high-speed connectivity, which will make them consume more and automatically switch to a higher tariff plan, resulting in higher revenues.

Furthermore, he added that there is not going to be anything such as a pure premium 5G experience. Initially, they will start giving 5G with slightly higher tariff plans. Gupta also confirmed that the tariff plans will be increased in India in the coming days. On the contrary, one of the previous reports suggested that the Airtel 5G plans will be priced almost similar to the existing 4G plans in the country.

Airtel Demonstrates 5G

Earlier this year, Airtel demonstrated its 5G connectivity. It showed that the next-generation cellular network can shape the future of interactive sports entertainment by recreating Kapil Dev's famous 175 not out vs Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup. The session included a 5G-powered hologram interaction with Kapil Dev, showing the virtual avatar of the cricketer on the stage to communicate with fans in real time. This was just before the real Kapil Dev appeared on stage.