As the first telco to launch 5G network in India, Bharti Airtel has been rolling out 5G at a record pace and scale. Further strengthening these claims, Ericsson today announced the successful deployment of 100,000 Massive MIMO 5G radios for Bharti Airtel across its 12 circles within a timeframe of over 500 days.
Rapid 5G Deployment
Airtel has reportedly deployed energy-efficient radio systems and solutions from Ericsson’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and MINI-LINK (microwave) mobile transport portfolios. Commenting on the deployment milestone, Bharti Airtel expressed that they are happy to have achieved this milestone of deploying 100,000 5G radios across 12 Airtel circles. “We have over 65 million customers on our network who are now enjoying blazing-fast unlimited 5G data at no additional cost.”
Other Milestones
As reported by TelecomTalk, in October 2023, Airtel announced the successful testing of pre-commercial Reduced Capability (RedCap) software on the Airtel 5G network. This testing of 5G TDD network is claimed to be the first implementation and validation of RedCap in India.
Airtel today already has over 65 million unique 5G customers on its network. Airtel earlier said its Airtel 5G Plus service is now available across districts in the length and breadth of the country and is on track to cover the entire country by March 2024.
