Airtel partners with Qualcomm for the Rollout of 5G services in India

Bharti Airtel has now partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to accelerate 5G deployment in India.

The partnership will allow Airtel to utilize Qualcomm 5G RAN Platform to roll out virtualized and Open RAN (O-RAN) based 5G network, notes the announcement.

Randeep Sekhon, chief technology officer, Bharti Airtel, said, "Airtel has been a pioneer of new technologies, and our networks are fully ready for 5G. We are delighted to have Qualcomm Technologies as a key technology provider in our journey to roll-out world-class 5G in India. With Airtel’s integrated service portfolio and Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G leadership, we will be well placed to usher India into the next era of hyper-fast and ultra-low latency digital connectivity."

Rajen Vagadia, vice president, QUALCOMM India Private Limited and president, Qualcomm India, said, "There is a compelling case to accelerate the roll-out of 5G networks in India, as it will help fast-track the country’s socio-economic growth and development. We are pleased to be working with Airtel, and we are excited by the opportunity ahead. This collaboration is expected to play a critical role in Airtel’s plans to add 5G network coverage and capacity where and when it is needed the most."

With this new partnership, Qualcomm and Airtel will collaborate to enable different use cases. The 5G fixed Wireless Access will deliver gigabit-speed broadband connectivity. The partnership will also speed up the rollout of broadband services across India.

With the Gigabit speed broadband, customers will be able to experience the 4k video streaming on the go across computing devices and smartphones. The faster speed will also enable immersive technologies like virtual reality and IoT use cases like smart homes and connected devices, notes the announcement.

Last year in October, Jio has also signed with Qualcomm Technologies to launch its virtualized RAN solution and to roll out of the 5G Network infrastructure.