Reliance Jio had said that it would launch 5G in four cities of the nation by this Diwali - Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. Airtel, which didn't say anything at the time, has now raced ahead of Jio to launch 5G in 8 cities of the nation. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, while addressing the audience at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022, said that Airtel would launch 5G in eight cities of the country. In addition, Mittal said that Airtel would launch 5G in most major cities by March 2023 and expand it to the entire nation by March 2024.
Reliance Jio is looking to reach PAN-India with its 5G network by December 2023. It would definitely be a close competition between both the players. The name of the eight cities was not revealed by Airtel. But these cities are likely going to be Delhi, Mumbai, and other areas where the company has already been testing the use cases of 5G.
Airtel also showcased the power of its 5G network by enabling a hologram of a child to be presented at the IMC 2022 at Pragati Maidan. PM Modi interacted with the child's hologram in real-time, and everything seemed good and consistent.
Do You Need Airtel 5G SIM?
Airtel users who are currently using the 4G SIM of the telco don't need to upgrade. However, legacy network users will have to get a new 4G SIM which will also be able to support 5G network connectivity. Of course, you also need a 5G phone to go with it. Airtel is launching 5G NSA (non-standalone) network, while Jio is going for 5G SA. Airtel has a booth at the IMC 2022, which people can go and visit to understand what the telco's 5G networks can enable in great depth. The event is taking place between October 1 to October 4, 2022, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
