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India’s second largest telco Airtel will launch its 5G services within a month, the company’s chief executive Gopal Vittal said in a letter to its customers. He added that by December, Airtel users in key metros will be able to avail 5G services, and it expects to cover all of urban India by the end of the year 2023.
He also outlined the steps for users to access Airtel’s 5G services. “Your Airtel SIM is already 5G enabled. So it will work seamlessly on your 5G smartphone,” he wrote. Most smartphones that are more than a year old do not have a 5G chipset. However, new smartphones that are now in India are mostly 5G enabled. "So, if you are buying a new smartphone, do check whether it is 5G enabled," Vittal added further.
“In order to enable 5G on your phone, go to the settings tab and get to connections or mobile network. You will be shown a choice to pick 5G in addition to 4G or LTE. Select that mode and you are ready,” Vittal wrote.
He, in his letter, also outlined the advantages of Airtel’s 5G network, the first being that the technology chosen by the telco has the widest ecosystem around the globe. Airtel has stated that it will deploy its network over non-standalone (NSA) mode. The NSA mode uses an existing 4G network layer over which the 5G network is built.
“This means that all 5G smartphones in India will work on the Airtel network without any glitch. This will be true even when you travel abroad with your Airtel 5G-enabled phone. In other technologies, it is possible that as many as four out of 10 5G phones don't support 5G,” he wrote.
Competitor and market leader Reliance Jio will be launching its network on standalone (SA) mode where the entire network is built on 5G.
Vittal added that the telco has built state-of-the-art tools and conducted numerous first-of-its-kind trials across several cities and use cases to ensure a superior 5G experience over the Airtel network across parameters like speed, video and gaming experience.
Apart from providing speeds 20 to 30 times faster than 4G, Vittal said that Airtel 5G will also enable differential quality for special requirements, something called network slicing. “So, if you are a gamer, and want a flawless experience, we will be able to slice the network for you. Or if you are working from home and want a consistent experience, we will deliver it for you,” he wrote.
Airtel has also tied up with Pepsico to offer recharge coupons on the purchase of the beverages in the FMCG major’s portfolio.
With every purchase of Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7UP, Mirinda, Slice, and Tropicana PET bottles consumers get Airtel Recharge coupons worth Rs 10 to Rs 20. An Airtel Thanks App discount coupon code will be printed on the reverse side of the labels of PET bottle to provide consumers with an access to avail the offer.
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