India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2019 is right around the corner and telecom operators are gearing up to show their innovations to the users. Bharti Airtel has now announced that it will provide a demo of live 5G network at the IMC 2019. Not only that, but Airtel will also demonstrate other latest solutions for Smart Businesses and Smart Cities project which the telco has been working on for a while now. Although Indian customers will not be able to experience 5G until the second half of 2020, telcos are ready to demonstrate the technology to show its capabilities. Airtel also says it will show pre-5G technologies such as Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) and how they will accompany emerging Digital India. Airtel also says it's working on IoT solutions to provide Smart Home solutions under Airtel Xstream. This move comes in a bid to take on Reliance JioFiber, which will also provide IoT solutions to the customers.
Airtel 5G-Ready Network Demonstration: What to Expect?
As noted, India will get 5G sometime in the second half of 2020 or in H1 2021. Almost all the telcos including Reliance Jio are now against the 5G spectrum auction which the government is planning to hold in the coming months. Until the spectrum allocation happens, telcos will not be able to launch 5G services in the country. As for Bharti Airtel, the Sunil Mittal-led telco will demonstrate 5G network user experience at India Mobile Congress (IMC). Furthermore, Airtel will also show pre-5G technologies like Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) and how they will enable Digital India. According to the telco, these high-speed technologies will enable smart homes, smart cities and smart factories in the coming years.
Airtel to Announce Industry 4.0 Technologies
When it comes to the enterprise space, Bharti Airtel is the market leader and serves over 2000 large businesses & 500,000 medium and small businesses. The telco offers an integrated product portfolio which empowers businesses for leveraging cutting edge ICT solutions under a single service window.
At the IMC 2019 show, users will be able to experience- Airtel’s industrial applications for Smart Factories, Airtel’s innovations for the IoT space and the next-generation data centres which will help businesses support cloud, drive deep analytics and deliver a great digital experience to the users.
Bharti Airtel Also Working on Smart Cities Project
Very recently, Airtel said that it would deploy Smart City solutions in Faridabad. Smart City solutions include an adaptive traffic control system, city-wide surveillance, pollution check, traffic enforcement system, street lighting and smart signage across the cities. The company will display some of these solutions at the IMC 2019. For now, Airtel will be implementing the Smart City solutions in Faridabad, however, it will be soon expanded to other cities as well.
Airtel to Deliver Connected Vehicles and Smart Home Solutions
Airtel is also building connectivity solutions in a bid to support connected vehicles. Already Airtel is powering India's first internet car- MG Hector and the company is now working wit several automative OEMs to power the next generation of two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
Lastly, Airtel will also display Smart Home solutions at its stall in IMC 2019. Airtel Xstream is the company's brand new Smart Home solution that brings broadband, DTH and mobility into a single space. Airtel is also working on to deliver IoT services for Smart Homes under Airtel Xstream going forward.