Indian market leader Jio has connected 184 cities across India to its Standalone (SA) 5G network, noting that its latest expansion added a further 50 cities across 17 states.
CommsUpdate noted that Jio customers with 5G-capable devices will be able to access an offer of unlimited 5G downloads as part of their current tariff. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has also been growing its 5G network, launching services in the state of Odisha and connecting a further four cities in Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore, Hosur, Madurai and Trichy. This takes its coverage total to roughly 40 cities.
While Vodafone Idea has not yet begun rolling out its 5G network, it has completed upgrades to all of its 11,000 sites across the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, deploying additional 1800MHz spectrum on the infrastructure to boost its LTE services.
Vi stated that over the past year it has deployed over 660 new sites, added capacity to the existing 6201 sites, and augmented spectrum across its entire footprint in the region, claiming that these upgrades have effectively doubled its download speeds for customers.
Siddhartha Jain, Vi’s Cluster Business Head for the two states, said: “We have undertaken multiple initiatives over the past year to widen our coverage as well as strengthen network capacity across the length and breadth of the two states … As we continue our endeavor towards 5G readiness, we remain committed to offer the best products and services enabling our customers to thrive in a digital world.”
