Bharti Airtel on Thursday successfully tested live 5G service over its commercial network in Hyderabad, throwing down the gauntlet before Reliance Jio which plans a launch in the second half of the year.

The government on Thursday eased the path for 5G rollout in the country by reducing to six months the notice period for offering any new technology using the spectrum being put up for auction in March, according to PTI.

Earlier, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked telecom operators to give one year notice before starting any technology using spectrum across the seven frequency bands that will be offered in auction on March 1. Airtel demonstrated its 5G readiness on the 1800MHz band but sought exclusive spectrum bands to deliver the full capabilities of the technology that promises to download full-length movies in a matter of seconds.

The government plans to auction 2,251MHz spectrum in seven bands ranging from 700MHz to 2500 MHz but has no plans to sell 5G spectrum in the 3300MHz to 3600MHz bands. The bidding will commence on March 1, with airwaves worth at least Rs 3.92 lakh crore up for sale.

Airtel said it demonstrated the capability in Hyderabad using its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800MHz band through the NSA (Non-Stand Alone) network technology. It seamlessly operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block using a first of its kind, dynamic spectrum sharing method.

Gopal Vittal, chief executive officer of Airtel, said the telco can commercially launch 5G services without the mid-band (5G exclusive) as its network fully supports the high-speed technology.

“When we launch 5G and make it available commercially, it must have a full power of 5G. Delivering experience is a must and you need more spectrum, especially in the mid-band. That doesn’t mean 1800, 2300 and 2100 MHz can’t be used...true 5G will be enabled through mid-band.”

He said the telco would be able to roll out the services across several parts of the country as soon as the DoT permits the commercial launch of 5G and auctions spectrum in the mid-size bands that is 3,300-3,600MHz.

“The moment we receive approval and the right spectrum bands in adequate quantities, we will be able to roll out immediately. Even on the existing bands 5G can be turned on. But full power of 5G can only be felt when adequate spectrum is available from the government,” Vittal said.

"Our network is already 5G ready. We don’t believe that there is going to be any significant change in the capex cycle going forward as a company," he added.

He, however, added that it is premature to launch 5G using existing 4G bands since the 4G ecosystem for devices and applications is fairly matured. “We have been working on this since last one year to make our networks 5G ready. It is a flick of a button. It is important to have the right amount of spectrum for true 5G,” he added.

Airtel, however, reiterated the need for the adoption of global 5G standard in India for the rollout and for a flouring ecosystem of applications and devices. “The more widely embraced ecosystem, more innovation can happen. That doesn’t contradict make in India. We also embrace it fully and encourage partners to make it in India. The ecosystem should be a common global ecosystem to be able to get lower prices and interoperability. That’s an advantage of the standard-based ecosystem,” Vittal said.
The Airtel 5G will be capable of delivering ten times the speed and latency in addition to 100 times concurrency compared to the existing technology available in the country. This, in turn, will enable users to download a full-length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone. However, the company added that the full impact of the 5G experience, will be available to customers only when the adequate spectrum is available and government approvals are received.

Meanwhile, research firm Counterpoint said the 5G smartphone shipment is expected to rise more than nine times to reach 38 million units in 2021, driven by a strong portfolio of products from brands like OnePlus and Apple.

The research firm said the key to higher adoption of 5G smartphones is bringing their prices below the Rs 20,000 mark given that 89 per cent of all the smartphones shipped to India in January-November 2020 had a price lower than Rs 20,000. The lowest-priced 5G device currently costs Rs 20,999, it said, adding that availability of cheaper 5G chipsets will make it feasible for OEMs (handset brands) to bring down the price. Qualcomm and MediaTek, the biggest chipset vendors, have unveiled affordable 5G chipsets.

"The market in India is price-sensitive and OEMs aggressively try to undercut the competition. It is a matter of time before this intense competition pushes the cost of an entry-level 5G phone below the Rs 20,000 mark. We estimate these devices to hit the Rs 15,000 mark by the third quarter of 2021, which also marks the arrival of India's festive season and the related e-commerce sales," Counterpoint said.