Airtel rolls out 5G service in 8 cities; no additional charges applicable

Airtel customers on 5G devices will be able to use 5G services on their existing data plans without any additional payment or upgrading to a higher plan, until the carrier completes rollout, the No 2 carrier said on Thursday, a day after rival Reliance Jio formally announced the launch of its 5G services.

The Sunil Mittal promoted telecom services provider launched its 5G services under Airtel 5G Plus in eight cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi which will be rolled out in a phased manner. Customers with 5G phones will be able to access 20-30 times faster speeds without paying any additional charges.

The country’s largest carrier Reliance Jio introduced its 5G services on Wednesday in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi for select customers under a beta trial by invite under the Jio Welcome Offer, where users will be able to experience 5G speeds of up to 1 Gbps on their existing devices without paying anything more.

Mint had reported last month that Jio and Airtel will not charge a premium for 5G services.

Gopal Vittal, managing director and chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel said, “For us, our customers are at the core of everything we do. Our solution will therefore work on any 5G handset and the existing SIM that customers have. Our obsession with customer experience is now embellished with a 5G solution that is kinder to the environment. Airtel 5G Plus is all set to redefine the way people communicate, live, work, connect and play for years to come.”

Vittal had said earlier that all of urban India will be covered by Airtel’s services within 2023 making it one of the fastest roll-outs. The carrier which has 40% of its over 260 million customers on 4G said that all 5G smartphones in India will seamlessly work on the Airtel network which will get 20 to 30 times higher speeds besides super-fast call connect. In addition, it will allow superfast access to high-definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and more.

“With this launch, India will get a fillip to economic growth as Airtel 5G Plus revolutionises education, healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, mobility and logistics,” the carrier said in a statement.

Reliance Jio said its services called True 5G will be made available without additional charges under the beta trial untill the network coverage of a city is substantially complete. The carrier said that the invited users under the Jio Welcome Offer will be automatically upgraded to the Jio True 5G service without needing to change their existing Jio SIM or 5G handset.

“Jio is also working with all handset brands to enable their 5G handsets to work seamlessly with Jio True 5G services so that customers have the most comprehensive range of 5G devices to choose from,” the carrier said in a statement on Wednesday.