Bharti Airtel has announced it is re-farming its existing mid-band spectrum to meet the rising demand for its 5G network. The company is reallocating its 1800, 2100, and 2300 MHz bands to enhance 5G coverage and capacity nationwide.
This re-farming will improve browsing speeds and indoor coverage for customers. To support increasing data demand, Airtel is rapidly upgrading its spectrum. Additionally, Airtel is working with smartphone manufacturers to integrate NSA and SA binaries with carrier aggregation features.
The company has successfully tested the SA and NSA switch in Rewari, Chennai, and Bhubaneswar, showing promising results. This will allow Airtel to offer new applications, services, and solutions through open APIs and advanced connectivity options.
Airtel highlighted that its 5G deployment is among the fastest in India, now covering all 28 states and 8 union territories, and has already showcased numerous impactful 5G use cases in the past year.
Speaking on the announcement, Randeep Sekhon, CTO of Bharti Airtel, said,
As more customers transition to our 5G services, we have re-farmed our mid-band spectrum previously used for 4G. We are also prepared to launch Stand-alone technology. This will make Airtel the first network in India to operate in both Stand-alone and Non-standalone modes, ensuring we deliver the best experience available in the market.