Airtel and Jio launched their 5G network in 2022. At first, the availability of the 5G network was limited to select cities. Both Jio and Airtel have been expanding the 5G network coverage since the launch, and as of now, one can experience the 5G network from Jio and Airtel in all major cities of India.
To use a 5G network from either Airtel or Jio, there is no need to upgrade your SIM card. Even if you have an ESM, you can use the same to experience Jio’s True 5G and Airtel’s 5G Plus network. Do note that, on some smartphones, you have to install the latest available software update to enable the 5G network on both Android and iOS devices.
In terms of pricing, as of today, Jio is offering free unlimited 5G access to all its users and there is no need to get a special plan to access the 5G network from Jio. You will need an invite from Jio to get access to the 5G network. While Airtel is not offering unlimited access to a 5G network as Jio does, it is not charging anything extra. As of now, there are no dedicated 5G recharge plans from either brand.
Jio’s 5G network is quite different from Airtel. Jio uses SA or standalone 5G technology that delivers lower latency, and better download and upload speeds, whereas Airtel is using NSA or non-standalone 5G technology, which makes use of 4G network components, hence, the download speed and latency will be slightly on the lower side when compared to Jio’s 5G network.
Jio True 5G network coverage in India
As of January 10, Jio 5G network based on SA (standalone) technology is available in 72 cities across the country. The network was originally launched on October 4th and the 5G network was made available in Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, and Kolkata.
In October, Jio extended the availability of the 5G network to two more cities — Athwart and Chennai. Jio rolled out its 5G network in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guru gram, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad in November last year. Jio 5G was also made available in Pune in November and in all districts of Gujarat.
In December, Jio added 5G coverage in a few more cities such as Koch, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Guntur. Cities like Lucknow, Trivandrum, Mysore, Chandigarh, Modal, Papal, Khazar, Derabassi, Bhopal, and Indore also received Jio’s 5G network coverage in December 2022.
In the first week of January 2023, Jio expanded its 5G network availability to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ludhiana, and Siliguri.
Airtel 5G Plus network coverage in India
Airtel launched its 5G Plus network on October 6 in eight cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. In November 2022, Airtel expanded its 5G network to cities like Guwahati, Guru gram, Papal, Pune Airport, Varanasi Airport, Patna, Nagpur Airport, and Bengaluru Airport.
In December, Airtel enabled the 5G Plus network in Lucknow, Shivam, Impala, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Vicar, Pune, Jammy, and Srinagar. Lastly, in January 2023, Airtel 5G Plus network was made available in Haryana, and Indore.
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