Airtel Conducts India's First Rural 5G Trial In Partnership With Ericsson Bharti Airtel said the 5G trial demonstrated a network coverage of over 10 kilometers through a single 5G site with both FWA and mobile devices

By Prabhjeet Bhatla

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Franchise India

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday informed the stock exchanges that it has conducted India's first 5G trial in BhaipurBramanan village, located on the outskirts of the Delhi-NCR region.

Earlier, the department of telecom (DoT) has kicked off the process for 5G technology by allocating airwaves to telcos. The DoT has allocated a spectrum to telecom operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, and other areas.

The 5G site infrastructure was powered by Ericsson's 3GPP-compliant 5G radio. The trial was carried out by utilizing the allocated mid-band trial spectrum in the 3,500 MHz bands and existing FDD spectrum band.

"5G will be a transformational technology when it comes to delivering broadband coverage to the last mile through use cases like FWA and contribute to a more inclusive digital economy. Airtel will continue to be at the forefront of 5G technology and bring more India relevant use cases through partnerships such as the one with Ericsson," said Randeep Singh Sekhon, chief technology officer, Airtel.

During the demonstration, over 200 Mbps throughput was clocked on 3GPP-compliant 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) device at a distance of over 10 kilometers from the site.

"This translated into an inter-site (between two 5G sites) coverage of approximately 20 kilometers, thus offering the ability to provide high-speed broadband coverage even in the remotest of geographies," Airtel said in a filing.

"As part of the trial, even a commercially available 3GPP-based 5G smartphone was able to connect to the 5G test network and record over 100 Mbps speeds at a distance of over 10 km from the site," it noted.

Ericsson is one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to telecom operators. Its comprehensive service portfolio ranges across networks, digital services, emerging businesses, powered by 5G and IoT platforms.

"The results of the trial demonstrate Airtel's capability to enable 5G for both capacity and coverage over its existing nationwide 4G infrastructure," the company shared.

Over the past few months, Airtel and Ericsson have partnered to demonstrate a speed of more than 1 Gbps on a live 5G network set up at cyber hub in Gurgaon using Airtel's 3,500 MHz trial spectrum.

Earlier in January this year, the two companies also showcased Ericsson spectrum sharing capabilities on a commercially deployed installed base of 1,800

MHz liberalized frequencies in Hyderabad to give consumers their first experience of 5G from a live commercial network.

Prabhjeet Bhatla

Former Staff

Leadership

From Barista to CEO: A Conversation With Smashburger's Leader on Her Inspiring Journey, How She's Transforming the Brand and Her Vision for the Future

Denise Nelsen, CEO of Smashburger, reflects on her journey from Starbucks barista to the leader of one of the most popular brands in the fast-casual dining industry, reveals the exciting changes being implemented at the company and offers advice for aspiring executives.

Franchise

How This Franchise Grew 70% in 3 Years and Became the Top Choice in Tech

Wireless Zone, #1 in the tech category of the Franchise 500, is redefining wireless retail with cutting-edge technology and franchisee support.

Leadership

The 2025 Leadership Playbook — Strategies to Help You Thrive in Uncertain Times

How to lead through uncertainty, adapt to challenges and position your organization for lasting success.

Marketing

7 Local SEO Strategies I've Used to Help Businesses Boost Their Revenue 10x — Especially Blue-Collar Companies

Discover actionable local SEO strategies for service-based businesses like pest control or auto glass repair. Boost visibility, reviews and leads with these tips.