Bharti Airtel has announced that it has crossed the 1 million unique 5G users mark. The company said it achieved this milestone in less than 30 days of its commercial launch. Airtel plans to roll out 5G services nationwide by March 2024.
As of August, Airtel had the second largest overall mobile phone user base at 363.8 million, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
“These are early days, but the response from customers has been very encouraging. Our network is being built every day even as all 5G devices are now capable of working on the Airtel 5G Plus network barring a few exceptions which should also be done in the coming weeks,” Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Airtel, said.
Earlier this month, Airtel announced the launch of its 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The services in these cities are getting rolled out in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network and complete the roll out. “By the end of this year, we will have launched in all key metros and by end of next year we will have 5G coverage across all major cities of India,” says the company.
Airtel initiated the 5G trials in 2021 and became the first operator to commercially launch 5G in the country. Customers with 5G smartphones can enjoy Airtel 5G Plus on their existing data plans at no additional cost until the roll out is more widespread. There is no need to change the SIM as the existing Airtel 4G SIM is 5G enabled.
Airtel says that it is providing special services to its 5G customers. “Customers who avail and latch onto the Airtel 5G Plus network will have a dedicated Customer Experience at the call centers, which will enable them to skip the IVR wait to talk to Airtel’s customer-care executives faster,” says the company on its website Talking about the subscribers’ response to Airtel’s 5G services, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel, said, “These are early days but the response from customers has been very encouraging. Our network is being built every day even as all 5G devices are now capable of working on the Airtel 5G Plus network barring a few exceptions which should also be done in the coming weeks. We will continue to advance our network with a vision to connect the entire country.”
