Bharti Airtel announced today that it has achieved peak speeds of 4.7 Gbps during the testing of mmWave 5G functionality on its network in collaboration with Ericsson. Airtel said this achievement demonstrates 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) functionality on mmWave, meeting high network capacity requirements.
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mmWave for 5G FWA
Millimeter wave (mmWave), or the 5G high-band spectrum, can be specifically utilised when targeting densely populated urban areas with a large number of mobile devices, homes, and business areas.
According to TelecomTalk's Spectrum holding Legend, Airtel has 800 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz mmWave band in each of its telecom circles.
Airtel highlighted that the utilisation of the mmWave spectrum, the high-band above 24 GHz, presents an opportunity for delivering unprecedented peak rates, low latency, and high capacity, catering to the evolving needs of consumers and businesses alike.
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Commenting on the achievement, Bharti Airtel said, "The peak throughput experienced during the testing gives us the confidence to deploy mmWave for FWA application. Using FWA customer premises equipment (CPE) supported with 5G mmWave will not only help in delivering greater speeds but will also enable us to cover the large number of users that are not connected so far due to inaccessible fiber connections. Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is an efficient and scalable alternative to wired connections."
Also Read: Bharti Airtel Successfully Tests 5G on mmWave and 3300 MHz in West Bengal
Scaling mmWave into Commercial Network
This demonstration is a step towards showcasing how mmWave can be scaled and integrated into a commercial mobile network, said the official statement. Ericsson mentioned that its mmWave portfolio offers Airtel the opportunity to seamlessly provide high-capacity connectivity to urban dwellers using FWA solutions.
