Airtel Begins Transition to Dual 5G Network in India as Telco Prepares 5G Advanced Rollout

Airtel has started transitioning its 5G network to 5G Advanced in India, beginning with the deployment of the dual-mode 5G network, the Non-Standalone (NSA) + Standalone (SA) model, an executive announced. The revelation was made during the telecom service provider's (TSP) second quarter (July-September) 2025 earnings investor call. The company is also planning to soon roll out the dual-mode 5G network commercially in the country. This comes months after Airtel, Ericsson, and the Volvo Group announced a research partnership in India, which requires the TSP to deploy its 5G Advanced network. 

Airtel's Dual Mode 5G Network Will Soon Roll Out to Customers

In his opening remarks during Bharti Airtel's Q2 2025 conference call, Managing Director Gopal Vittal announced that the company has also started migrating its fixed wireless access (FWA) customers to dual-mode 5G. The telecom operator has begun the transition process towards 5G Advanced with the introduction of the dual-mode 5G network, which operates on the NSA + SA network deployment model. Vittal added that, as of today, Airtel 5G subscribers in 13 circles in India are on the “dual-mode 5G network with SA”.

Moreover, the pilot project for the NSA + SA 5G network is already underway in a “couple of circles”. The Airtel executive also revealed that the Indian telecom giant plans to commercially roll out the dual-mode 5G network in the coming months as Airtel's 5G traffic increases.

A 5G NSA network leverages the telecom operator's existing 4G infrastructure, allowing the service provider to offer higher speeds by placing the 5G interface on a 4G LTE network. Airtel's rival Reliance Jio offers access to its 5G SA network.

Whereas, as the name suggests, SA is deployed on a standalone 5G infrastructure, using dedicated equipment and a network interface. However, the NSA + SA combine both, allowing TSPs to offer the best of both worlds to their customers, with higher speeds and a more stable network.

Earlier this year, in March, Airtel, Ericsson, and the Volvo Group announced that the three are collaborating to research and explore the potential of Extended Reality (XR), Digital Twin technologies, and AI in the manufacturing sector over Airtel's 5G Advanced network, calling it “a step towards accelerating Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 adoption in the country. As part of the research partnership, the TSP started deploying its 5G Advanced network for industrial XR applications.