Last month Bharti Airtel announced that it will soon roll out a 5G network pan India in a matter of months. Also, it demonstrated LIVE 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city. Airtel did this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1,800 MHz bands through the NSA (Non-Stand Alone) network technology. In a new development the telecom company today announced its collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies for accelerating 5G in India.
Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel has been a pioneer of new technologies and our networks are fully ready for 5G. We are delighted to have Qualcomm Technologies as a key technology provider in our journey to roll-out world-class 5G in India. With Airtel’s integrated service portfolio and Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G leadership, we will be well placed to usher India into the next era of hyper-fast and ultra-low latency digital connectivity.”
With the announcement of its partnership with the American Chipset company Qualcomm, Airtel aims to utilize the Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms to roll-out virtualized and Open RAN-based 5G networks. The company as a board member of the O-RAN Alliance is also working with Qualcomm Technologies to explore and implement the O-RAN approach for India.
According to the company, the flexible and scalable architecture of O-RAN will create new opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to become viable players in the deployment of 5G networks. Additionally, their collaboration will also enable a wide array of use cases, including 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) that is designed to deliver broadband connectivity at Gigabit speeds to homes and businesses. Therefore this will help Airtel to allow the rollout of broadband services in a cost-effective and expeditious manner across India.
Rajen Vagadia, Vice President, QUALCOMM India Private Limited and President, Qualcomm India said, “There is a compelling case to accelerate the roll-out of 5G networks in India, as it will help fast-track the country’s socio-economic growth and development. We are pleased to be working with Airtel, and we are excited by the opportunity ahead. This collaboration is expected to play a critical role in Airtel’s plans to add 5G network coverage and capacity where and when it is needed the most.”
Airtel 5G solutions together with Qualcomm 5G Fixed Wireless Access Platform support to be able to provide multi-gigabit internet speeds wirelessly to customers. As per the telecom operator for the customers the ultra-fast and low latency of 5G will unlock a digital world of limitless possibilities – gigabit size file downloads in seconds and 4K video streaming on the go across smartphones and computing devices, Immersive Technologies such as Virtual Reality and SMART Homes with connected things. Also, the FWA Platform will virtually support a combination of 5G spectrum bands and modes, from extended-range high power sub-6 to extended-range mmWave.
The Airtel 5G solutions including FWA services will deliver cutting-edge technology for virtualized, flexible and interoperable 5G infrastructure. The company explains that its network vendors and device partners will utilize the capabilities of these platforms for accelerating the development of 5G applications for Industry 4.0 use cases and for driving innovations for Airtel’s global operations.
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