Airtel 5G Rollout: Operator Publishes List of 116 Smartphones That Support Airtel 5G Connectivity

Airtel recently began rolling out its 5G services in eight cities in India, giving customers with compatible smartphones access to high-speed internet connectivity in the country. The operator has published a list of 116 handsets that support 5G connectivity on Airtel's network. On October 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services at the 6th India Mobile Congress held at Delhi's Pragati Maidan. With the formal launch of the 5G services, mobile users in India are eager to find about the compatibility of their devices. However, even if your handset is listed on the website, you may have to wait for a software update from your telecom operator before you gain access to 5G connectivity on your smartphone in India.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has come up with a guide to inform subscribers about handsets that are already 5G enabled by the original device manufacturers (ODM). It claimed that Airtel 5G Plus works on all 5G handsets. Airtel's guide has a list of 116 handsets - comprising Realme, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, iQoo, Apple, OnePlus, and Samsung, among others - which are 5G enabled. The list also includes handsets of various manufacturers where the software update is needed.

You can check whether your smartphone has 5G compatibility on Airtel's dedicated webpage.

5G in India​​

The central government intends to cover 5G services across the country within 2 years, said Union Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently at an event. The government in mid-August issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services.

Earlier this month, Bharti Airtel said it had launched "Airtel 5G Plus" services in eight cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi - and would cover all of urban India in 2023.

Reliance Jio has also announced it will launch high-speed 5G telecom services by Diwali this year in multiple key cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Subsequently, it intends to expand its 5G network to each and every town, tehsil and talukas across the country by December of 2023, which is nearly 18 months from now.

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network capable of transmitting a large set of data at a very rapid speed. Compared with 3G and 4G, 5G has a very low latency which will enhance user experiences in various sectors. Low latency describes the efficiency to process a very high volume of data messages with a minimal delay.

The 5G rollout is also expected to bring more development in remote data monitoring in sectors such as mining, warehousing, telemedicine, and manufacturing, among others.