Airtel to launch 5G within a month, cover all urban areas by 2023: CEO

New Delhi: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel expects to launch 5G services within a month and cover key metros by December, a top official of the company said on Wednesday. The telco plans to cover all urban areas of the country by the end of 2023, according to the company's CEO.

Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal in a communication to the customers said Airtel 5G will deliver dramatically higher speeds of 20-30 times compared to a 4G network.

"We expect to launch our 5G services within a month. By December, we should have coverage in the key metros. After that we will expand rapidly to cover the entire country. We expect to cover all of urban India by the end of 2023," Vittal said.

Customers will get to know about availability of 5G in their town through Airtel Thanks App.

"Airtel 5G will deliver dramatically higher speeds compared to a 4G network. It could be anywhere between 20 to 30 times the speed you get today. This will allow you to boot up an application or download a heavy file in no time," Vittal said.

He said that Airtel SIM is already 5G-enabled and customers will need to have 5G ready mobiles phones to access the service.

"In order to enable 5G on your phone, go to the settings tab and get to connections or mobile network. You will be shown a choice to pick 5G in addition to 4G or LTE. Select that mode and you are ready," Vittal said.

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