Airtel gears up for 5G roll-out this month; partners with Ericsson, Nokia

Company ropes in three telecom gear makers to set up 5G networks

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday signed agreements with global telecom equipment majors Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung to commence the deployment of 5G services across the country this month. The company is likely to start with Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune. The launch could coincide with the Independence Day, sources indicated.  

The announcement came just a couple of days after the much-awaited 5G auction ended with the government fetching more than Rs 1.5 trillion.

Airtel had forked out Rs 43,084 crore for 19,868 MHz spectrum, including in the crucial 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands, while Reliance Jio was the top bidder with 24,740