Airtel Pips Jio in 5G Rollout Race, Expands Next-Generation Network Coverage to 500 Cities

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel overtook Reliance Jio in 5G roll-out with the expansion of the network to additional 235 cities, taking its total reach to 500 cities.

Reliance Jio has so far announced the expansion of its ultra high-speed fifth generation (5G) network to 406 cities.

"Bharti Airtel...ultra-fast 5G service is available to customers in 500 cities in the country. Airtel added 235 cities to its network, making it one of the largest roll-outs to date," the company said in a statement.

"Airtel was the first to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today's mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. We have already covered 500 cities and are adding 30 to 40 cities every single day. By September of 2023, we expect to expand our 5G footprint to all of urban India," Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon said.

According to industry players, India has become the fastest country in the world to roll-out 5G networks.

Against the target of rolling out 5G in 200 cities before March 31 set by the government, the service is now available in over 900 cities.

Airtel said that its 5G Plus runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem which ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network.

"Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today (compared to 4G) coupled with a brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect," the statement said.

Airtel has also removed the 5G data usage limit cap to match with Jio's offer.

Earlier 5G data usage was limited to the same as the daily quota which customers had in their 4G subscription plan.

"Customers will now be able to experience ultra-fast, reliable and secure 5G Plus services without having to worry about data exhaustion as the company removes the capping on data usage across all existing plans," the statement said.

The company has also deployed the first 5G private network at Bosch facility in Bengaluru, and also at Mahindra & Mahindra's Chakan manufacturing facility to make it the first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing unit.