Bharti Airtel, Ericsson trial 5G network in rural India

Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel and Ericsson recently said that they have conducted India's first 5G network trial in rural areas and were able to provide network speeds of up to 100Mbps at a distance of more than 10 kilometers from the site. The trial was held in the village of Brahmanam in Baipur, using the 5G trial spectrum allocated to operators by the telecommunications department.

Indian operators have begun testing 5G networks in rural areas (Image source: telecomtalk)

Bharti Airtel said that once the 5G spectrum is auctioned, the 5G network could be launched within six months and cover most parts of India within a year.

Nunzio Miltillo, head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, said 5G will be a "socio-economic multiplier" for India. According to a study by Ericsson, a 10% increase in mobile broadband penetration in a region will lead to a 0.8% increase in GDP.