Apple users in India to get 5G from next week

NEW DELHI: Tech giant Apple will roll out the much-awaited software upgrades for 5G network in India for its users from next week. The service will be made available as Apple pushes out its iOS 16 Beta software update.

India announced the launch of 5G services on October 1. Airtel and Reliance Jio customers on any of the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can use Apple's Beta Software Program to experience 5G service.

The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process. The Apple Beta Software Program also lets users try out pre-release software and experience the latest features before the software becomes more widely available.

The users are invited to provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.

To access the Apple Beta Software Program, iPhone users can simply enrol in their device to access the latest public betas, as well as subsequent updates, including the 5G beta which will be available to Airtel and Jio customers from next week.

As a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, users will be able to enroll their iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod mini or Apple Watch to access the latest public betas, as well as subsequent updates.

Apple said that both the program and software are free for iPhone users. This program is voluntary, and there is no compensation for participation.

Earlier in October, Apple in a statement to ANI had said, "We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed."

"5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December," it added in the statement.

This move by the iPhone maker apparently comes after the Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Information Technology pushed the mobile phone makers and telecom operators for the updation of 5G-related software in the devices and putting in place the requisite infrastructure for faster rollout of the new-age telecom services.

5G internet services are finally here in India. On October 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services at the 6th India Mobile Congress held at Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

The central government intends to cover 5G services across the country within 2 years, said Union Electronics and Information Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently at an event.

The government in mid-August issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services. Back in October, Bharti Airtel had also said it had launched "Airtel 5G Plus" services in eight cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi - and would cover all of urban India in 2023.

Reliance Jio has also announced it will launch high-speed 5G telecom services by Diwali this year in multiple key cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Subsequently, it intends to expand its 5G network to each and every town, tehsil and talukas across the country by December of 2023, which is less than 18 months from now.