Airtel pips Jio in 5G roll-out, reaches 500 cities

NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel overtook Reliance Jio in 5G roll-out with the expansion of the network to additional 235 cities, taking its total reach to 500 cities.

Reliance Jio has so far announced the expansion of the ultra high-speed fifth generation (5G) network to 406 cities. ''Bharti Airtel...ultra-fast 5G service is available to customers in 500 cities in the country. Airtel added 235 cities to its network, making it one of the largest roll-outs to date,'' the company said in a statement.

Airtel said that it is adding 30-40 cities on its 5G network daily.

''Airtel was the first to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today's mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. We have already covered 500 cities and are adding 30 to 40 cities every single day. By September of 2023, we expect to expand our 5G footprint to all of urban India,'' Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon said.