Airtel achieves 4.7 Gbps 5G speeds on mmWave spectrum using Ericsson gear

Bharti Airtel and Ericsson have successfully demonstrated millimetre wave (mmWave) 5G functionality on Airtel's network, achieving peak speeds of 4.7Gbps, the companies announced on Wednesday. The latest demonstration will solidify Airtel's plans of using mmWave for high network capacity requirements.

The 5G high-band or millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum is a valuable resource when targeting densely populated urban areas with a large number of mobile devices, homes, and businesses. The high band, above 24 gigahertz (GHz) offers an opportunity for service providers to offer unprecedented peak rates, low latency, and high capacity.

The peak throughput experienced during the testing gives Airtel the confidence to deploy mmWave for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) application, which the company views as an efficient and scalable alternative to wired connections, Airtel's Chief Technology Officer Randeep Singh Sekhon said in a statement. "Using FWA customer premises equipment (CPE) supported with 5G mmWave will not only help in delivering greater speeds but will also enable us to cover a large number of users that are not connected so far due to inaccessible fibre connections,” Sekhon said.

FWA Play

In August, last year, the telco had announced its 5G wireless Wi-Fi service Airtel Xstream AirFiber, designed to provide internet to areas without fibre-based internet connections. This new offering will provide fixed wireless access (FWA) to homes lacking fixed-line internet.

At the time, only 34 million homes in India had optical fibre connections, highlighting a large number of customers struggling for fibre access. Xstream AirFiber, a plug-and-play device with in-built Wi-Fi 6 technology, aims to address this gap by offering wide indoor coverage and the capacity to simultaneously connect up to 64 devices.

According to Ericsson’s Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Handbook 2024 Insights, FWA connections worldwide are projected to increase to 330 million by the end of 2029, up from 130 million at the end of 2023. This represents 18 per cent of all fixed broadband connections. Of the 330 million projected connections, close to 85 per cent are expected to be over 5G. As of November 2023, 50 out of 121 service providers with 5G FWA offerings were in emerging markets.

Ericsson’s purpose-built hardware and innovative software co-design, powered by Ericsson Silicon, places the company in a unique position to fully maximise the potential of the high-band, the company said. Ericsson’s mmWave portfolio for macro and street macro levels offers Airtel the opportunity to seamlessly bring high-capacity connectivity to urban dwellers using the FWA solution.

“With 5G demonstrations on the 26GHz band now underway, this is a significant step in showcasing how mmWave can be scaled and integrated into a commercial mobile network. Our extensive investments in research and development have produced in-depth knowledge, experience, and multiple 5G mmWave patents. We possess a leading portfolio in the global 5G mmWave patent landscape and fully own the technology we use,” Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India said.