Bharti Airtel has surpassed Reliance Jio in 5G roll-out by expanding its network to an additional 235 cities, bringing its total reach to 500. So far, Reliance Jio has announced the expansion of its ultra-fast fifth generation (5G) network to 406 cities.
“Bharti Airtel…ultra-fast 5G service is available to customers in 500 cities in the country. Airtel added 235 cities to its network, making it one of the largest roll-outs to date,” the company said in a statement.
Bharti Airtel said that it is adding 30-40 cities on its 5G network daily.
According to industry participants, India has become the world’s fastest country to deploy 5G networks. “Airtel was the first to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. We have already covered 500 cities and are adding 30 to 40 cities every single day. By September of 2023, we expect to expand our 5G footprint to all of urban India,” Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon said.
In comparison to the government’s target of deploying 5G in 200 cities by March 31, the service is now available in over 900 cities.
Bharti Airtel claims that its 5G Plus runs on the most widely accepted technology in the world, with the most developed ecosystem, ensuring that all 5G smartphones in India work seamlessly on the Airtel network.
To compete with Jio’s offer, Airtel has also removed the 5G data usage cap.
Previously, 5G data usage was limited to the same daily quota as customers’ 4G subscription plans.
“Customers will now be able to experience ultra-fast, reliable and secure 5G Plus services without having to worry about data exhaustion as the company removes the capping on data usage across all existing plans,” the statement said.
The company has also installed the first 5G private network at the Bosch facility in Bengaluru, as well as the first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing unit at Mahindra & Mahindra’s Chakan facility.
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