5G debuted in India on October 1. The next-generation internet service was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 6th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 in New Delhi. At the launch, Airtel became the first telecom company to bring 5G services in eight cities. While the telco revealed names of only four cities that are getting Airtel 5G (Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Bengaluru), other four cities names are yet not known. Other details about 5G tariffs, 5G plans remain unclear too.
Days later, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has shared a tweet asking about the availability of Airtel 5G service. In his post, Sharma has raised questions about how to activate 5G on existing Airtel SIM. He also questioned whether Airtel 5G service has been launched for the public or not. No information is available on the Airtel website, he added.
“How to activate 5G on an @airtelindia SIM ? Has it been launched for public ? There is no information on airtel website”, tweeted Paytm CEO.
It is worth mentioning here that 5G is currently available at Delhi IGI airport. The service will be expanded to four cities – Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai by Diwali. However, these cities too will face redundancy in the way that only parts of the city will receive the services.
On the first day of IMC 2022, Bharti Airtel chief technology officer Randeep Singh Sekhon said that the company’s backend infrastructure is ready. But, “we need to install some equipment on mobile towers for 5G service. We are doing it gradually. As of today, the service will be available in the area close to towers where the equipment has been installed,” he added.
According to an Airtel official, Airtel plans to bring 5G services in several cities across the country by March 2023 and across India by March 2024. The company is likely to announce tariffs for 5G in the coming future, but it is speculated that the pricing may remain the same as the existing 4G rates.
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