Airtel will be at the forefront of 5G connectivity in India, says chairman

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal said the company will be at the forefront of 5G connectivity in India. He was speaking ahead of the 5G spectrum auctions that are set to begin on July 26.

5G services are expected to bring internet speed five times faster than 4G.

The annual report of Bharti Airtel said the company will be at the forefront of bringing the powerful network that will support India's digital-first economy. Mittal noted that Airtel took the lead in 5G by testing the network ahead of the competition and became the first operator in India to demonstrate a 5G cloud gaming experience and conduct a successful 700 Mhz band trial for rural connectivity.

Addressing his shareholders, he said digital services, in the next few years, will add several billion dollars to the company's revenue while maintaining an asset-light approach.

"This confidence is borne out by the early successes in Airtel's digital endeavors. Amidst new COVID-19 variants, geopolitical crises, soaring commodity prices, and high inflation, the financial year saw India emerge as a bright spot in the global economy," added the Chairman.

Mittal noted that the company should prepare to take a big step forward and have the courage to do things in a new way with renewed confidence.

Airtel Managing Director, Gopal Vittal, backed the chairman's words and said the company is fully ready for 5G and that its core network, radio network, and transport network are fully future-proofed. "We demonstrated our readiness for 5G by conducting industry first trials that focused on both consumer and industrial use cases," he added.

Adani Enterprise, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are set to participate in the auction. A total 72GHz (gigahertz) of radiowaves worth at least Rs. 4.3 lakh crore will be put on the block during the event.

The telecom department is holding a mock auction on Friday and Saturday as a precursor to the mega event.