Airtel is set to launch 5G services across India next month, covering every town by 2024. This development comes after Airtel announced a series of initiatives to improve its network connectivity across the country and abroad. The company has also stated that it will roll out enterprise solutions to offer services like virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet of things.
Airtel has been in talks with the government to provide complimentary 5G service and help digitize India’s rail network. The company has partnered with Google for 5G technology solutions and with Samsung for its 5G smartphones, offering affordable pricing and fast data speeds.
Airtel (the biggest mobile phone service provider in India) is the largest competitor of state-owned telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. Vodafone and Bharti Airtel are entirely or partially owned by the government of India or a government agency. Airtel also provides internet services through its brand name Airtel Broadband. Airtel broadband offers users high-speed internet access and voice telephony services for a monthly subscription.
Airtel has its international footprint in 20 countries. It is now looking to expand its services to Sri Lanka, Bhutan and South Africa. The Indian telecom operator has announced that it will invest USD 2 billion in Africa in the next five years. Airtel has a presence in two major foreign markets – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where they provide call and data services through their branch offices.
Tariff Hike on the Anvil?
It was widely reported that Airtel would hike the tariffs of its postpaid plans by up to 20 per cent. However, there has been no official confirmation of this. This rumour contrasts Airtel’s tariffs reduction in April 2018, when it slashed roaming charges and Rs 200 off on domestic roaming.
Airtel has repeatedly denied reports on the increase in mobile tariff. On the contrary, the company offers a flat 25 per cent discount for customers who subscribe to three or more services for a year. Airtel is reportedly planning to hike the tariffs by another 2.5 per cent in May 2019.
With the government’s efforts toward digitalisation of India and the telecom industry’s increasing focus on increasing its capacity, India’s biggest mobile operator Airtel plans to roll out 5G services across the country next month. This development comes after Airtel announced a series of initiatives to improve its network connectivity across the country and abroad.
Telecom regulator TRAI may soon take a call on raising tariffs for the telecom operators in the country. TRAI may also put forth rules for compensating telcos for their investments to set up networks under future technology like 5G and will discuss a framework on 5G spectrum auction as well.
It is engaged in developing, investing in and operating data centres, and providing Internet service to businesses. Airtel has entered into a joint venture with NTT Docomo called ‘MTS India Private Limited, which owns, and operates MTS India mobile network. Airtel provides mobile services under the brand name MTS in Russia. Airtel Money is a digital wallet service offered by Bharti Airtel. The company claims that it covers 99% of India’s population with this service.
The 5G revolution is coming to India and here’s how Airtel is leading the way.
Airtel has announced that it will make a 5G phone available for customers by the end of 2019. It has partnered with Samsung for this and is currently testing its early 5G infrastructure in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. The company is also working on enterprise solutions with its 5G solutions partner Ericsson, virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet of things, to enhance their services.
Airtel has created an in-house creative lab, ‘Airtel Labs’ to develop innovative and disruptive products, services and solutions. The company has partnered with several global brands to co-create solutions for its customers. The company has also partnered with ‘Twiggy’ for its employee engagement solutions.
Airtel to launch 5G services this month, CEO spells out 2024 vision.
Airtel has been in talks with the government to provide complimentary 5G service and help digitize India’s rail network. The company has partnered with Google for 5G technology solutions and with Samsung for its 5G smartphones, offering affordable pricing and fast data speeds. Airtel (the biggest mobile phone service provider in India) has invested Rs 16,000 crore in its next-gen 5G network, which is expected to reach every corner of the country by 2024.
Airtel has set a target of a 20 per cent market share in the country’s online payments space by 2022. Under its partnership with Google, Airtel users can pay for their shopping and make utility bill payments through Google Pay. Airtel has also partnered with global payment solutions provider Mastercard to integrate its bank cards seamlessly, making it easier for customers to make online purchases on Airtel’s portal.
The telecom operator plans to start its 5G services by the end of this year and have the entire country covered by 2024. Airtel has partnered with Ericsson to launch its 5G network and has also found an enterprise solution with it. It is also working on solutions like virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet of things to enhance its services.
Airtel Money is a digital payment system developed by Airtel mobile service provider based in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The service is available in 17 countries, including India. The system has been developed on a proprietary basis by Airtel. It was found on 29 August 2010 and operates in 16 states and 102 districts across India.
Airtel has stated that it will launch 5G services across India next month and cover every town by 2024. The company has also announced a series of initiatives to improve its network connectivity across the country and abroad. Airtel has also stated that it will roll out enterprise solutions to offer services like virtual reality, augmented reality.
Bharti Airtel Q1 profit rises five-fold to Rs 1,607 crore.
The telecom operator reported a rise in its quarterly profit by five-fold at Rs 1,607 crore. The company’s net revenues also increased by almost four times at Rs 19,826 crore. Bharti Airtel competes with other major telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. The company has a market capitalisation of over Rs 55,000 crore.
Airtel has 19,009 locations across the country where it offers mobile services. It has 11,866 GSM towers in India and 804 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) towers. The company also operates more than 4,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. The company provides voice and data services in over 1 million locations in India. Bharti Airtel also claims to connect over 2 million users every month through its Wi-Fi-operated hotspots.
Airtel 5G India rollout starting in August
The telecom operator has collaborated with Samsung for 5G technologies and is planning to launch its 5G services in August. The company has also found an enterprise solution with Ericsson for its customers. It also plans to roll out artificial intelligence solutions and machine learning solutions for both mobile customers and enterprises in India.
Airtel plans to conduct a trial of 5G technology in the last week of August. The company has also announced that it will invest up to Rs 3,000 crore over the next few years as part of its 5G trials. Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal has stated that the company will use its upcoming 5G services to offer solutions like virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet of things.
Bharti Airtel has also partnered with Ericsson to offer 5G network solutions. Ericsson claims that it will be able to roll out a full-scale 5G network in less than three months if it is provided with a greenfield opportunity. The company has so far invested Rs 1000 crore and plans to invest another Rs 3000 crore over the next few years for its 5G trials.
Airtel has been ranked 138 among the world’s top 500 companies by Forbes. That makes it one of the two Indian companies among the 500 biggest global firms. The telecom operator was also ranked 33rd in the list of India’s most valuable brands. It was behind market leader Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India.
Airtel Mobile Services Ltd. (Airtel) is a direct subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti). In 1896, The Times of India was founded in Bombay, and it has served as a foundation for many private enterprises that have come up since then. Airtel has been listed on the list of Fortune 500 companies. The company is the largest mobile service provider in India. It has over 385 million subscribers across 30 countries. This includes around a 200 million customer base in India.
Airtel operates its business through its units, including Airtel Payments Bank Ltd., Airtel Digital Services Ltd., Airtel CDMA 2G, 3G and 4G Services, and Bharti Airtel International (India) Limited, among others. Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti) is a telecom company based in India. It was created in 1997 by the merger of leading Indian telecommunication companies and has services in mobile phones, broadband, IPTV and fixed-line services. Bharti Airtel operates in over 18 countries and has over 242 million active customer connections. It also uses a 4G spectrum to provide access to 4G wireless data services.
Bharti Airtel to launch 5G services
Bharti Airtel will launch its 5G services in August, and it is estimated that there will be more than 40 million 5G users in India by the end of 2022. By 2024, the company aims to provide a full-scale 5G network to almost all major towns and cities across India. The company plans to invest Rs 2000 crore to set up a 5G network and it may also have tie-ups with other companies.
Airtel has stated that it will launch 5G services across India next month and cover every town by 2024. The company has also announced a series of initiatives to improve its network connectivity across the country, and abroad. Airtel launched IPTV services in the 2000s, and currently operates a 24-hour cable/IPTV service known as “HD STB”. The company also offers mobile digital TV (MDTV) services, which are available on 4G LTE devices. It has more than 15 HD channels, including Bangla, Hollywood movies, Bollywood movies and other top channels. Airtel has also partnered with Fox International media to provide MDTV services.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone sign pact for 5G business
Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone have signed an agreement to offer 5G services in India jointly. The companies also plan to launch their first enterprise solution together in the next few months. The partnership will also provide them access to each other’s customer base.
Research firm IDC estimates that India’s mobile ecosystem will have more than 500 million active users by 2021. The number of subscribers is expected to increase by about 25% over the same period. Bharti Airtel is the largest carrier in India, followed by Vodafone and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.
Airtel and Tata Teleservices agree to create a new entity in India, Airtel’s seventh venture in India. The new entity will combine the Indian operations of both companies and is expected to become India’s second-largest telecom operator after Airtel. The new company will have a combined subscriber base of about 222 million customers in nearly 900 cities across India.
As of 30 June 2017, Airtel had a total of 399.4 million customers. Thirteen per cent of its customers are using its 4G LTE services, while over 51% of its mobile customers are using the 3G network. The company has launched an artificial intelligence-powered mobile app in India to improve customer service through predictive engagement and personalised recommendations.
Airtel has a 22% equity stake in the company. Airtel is the only carrier in India to have a successful Wi-Fi Hotspot business with over 2,30,000 hotspots across India. In 2012, Airtel acquired a 20 MHz 3G spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for Rs 17 billion from Videocon and Tata Teleservices for deployment in 13 circles.
Airtel Internet is a service created by Airtel to deliver digital services in India. Airtel has partnered, with several internet firms such as Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Microsoft, Flipkart and Amazon to provide these services in India. The Airtel Internet portfolio includes 3G Services, 2G Services, High-Speed Wifi Services and IPTV Services for residential and Corporate Users.
Conclusion
Airtel has invested heavily in India, making the country one of Airtel’s largest markets. Almost all of Bharti Airtel’s operations outside its home market of India are in Africa and Asia. The company is the largest mobile network operator in India. A large part the investment by Bharti Airtel in India comes from Mauritius, which is domiciled. Besides, a significant portion also comes through Singapore and non-resident Indian investors.
Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) is a technology used to provide 3G and 4G mobile communication networks. It is a technology developed by the United States Federal Communications Commission (USF) that is designed to function on the spectrum that has previously been allocated for non-commercial use.
Airtel Payments Bank was incorporated in May 2014 and launched the bank’s services on 15 November 2015. The bank gained regulatory approval for lending, and acceptance of credit cards and mutual funds from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in February 2016. The bank is a joint venture between Bharti Airtel Limited and South Africa-based First Rand Holdings Limited.
Airtel provides fixed line, broadband and mobile services. These services are provided to customers through a nationwide network with 1.4 million circuit kilometres of voice lines, 2.2 million circuit kilometres of data lines and over 100,000 buildings with over 13,000 teleservices premises across the country. Airtel’s broadband services are available through its network in the state-owned spectrum band 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz.
Airtel has launched several products to meet the demand for data services. The company first launched Airtel broadband in two cities on 10 November 2008. It was found in Bangalore, India’s most populated city and Delhi, the capital of India. Airtel has a total of 1 million broadband customers at present.
Airtel’s most expansive 4G LTE network deployment was in Delhi and Mumbai. In August 2017, Airtel announced that it had completed the installation of its 4G network in all the 26 telecom circles of India and will soon start with the rollout of its services in the remaining circles. These include Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. The company aims to cover every town by 2024.
Airtel in India experiences the highest number of net additions and the highest active customer base in the 3G services market. According to a study conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Airtel had 6.52 million new customers in 2014. Almost 20% of all customers added to the mobile market that year, followed by Vodafone, Aircel and Reliance Communications.
Airtel launched a new service called Airtel Lite BSNL launched in 2015. It uses 3G technology to offer the essential services of a mobile network. This is provided at a low price, which is comparable to those of prepaid benefits. It has approximately six million customers and its value-added services include call waiting, and voice mail service, caller ID and data rollover capabilities.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
