What speed will my Airtel prepaid 5G sim give?

The anticipation is finally over! 5G is here in India. Although the network has only been launched by the telecom giants in select cities, it is expected to cover the whole country including rural areas by end of 2024. The 5G dream is finally coming true. We definitely can’t keep calm. 

While 5g trials last year by Airtel gave speeds like 1Gbps in Gurugram & Mumbai and 3Gbps in Hyderabad – 3X faster than Jio’s 5G trial – we all know the speed offered may differ. The trial speed is usually higher as the network is not being used by anyone else. 

Therefore, today’s article for users who must be wondering what is the real 5G speed they will experience with Airtel. We will find out in detail what’s the 5G speed people are experiencing in select 5G launch cities and what is Airtel 5G Plus – the plan which will give you faster internet speed! 

So, let’s get started!

Airtel prepaid 5G sim speed 

As mentioned above, Airtel has launched its 5G services under 5G Plus network. All Airtel prepaid users with compatible devices and updates can use 5G network on their existing 4G plans. Yes, you heard that correct! 

All you need to do is switch to 5G network in your phone (compatible with 5G and has latest 5G update) and start enjoying 5G speed. You don’t have to pay anything extra or do an extra Airtel mobile recharge to get 5G speed on your 4G sim. 

Now when it comes to speed, Airtel has claimed that Airtel 5G Plus speed is 20-30 times faster than 4G speed you are getting currently! Isn’t that cool? 

20-30 times of 4G download and upload speed

If you observe, 4G download speed by Airtel usually ranges between 10-20 Mbps. 20x or 30x of this download speed is what Airtel 5G Plus is offering to its users. According to various users on social media, they have experienced around 300 Mbps as their download speed and around 80-85 Mbps as the upload speed. 

Launch Download speed

Even at IMC (India Mobile Congress) 5G launch on 1st October 2022, Airtel achieved a download speed of 306 Mbps and upload speed of 25.4 Mbps. So, with 300 Mbps as the download speed, you can download a SD movie of 1.5 Gbps in probably 5-10 seconds! That is the kind of speed you can get with Airtel 5G network.

The best part is you don’t need to upgrade your 4G sim card for using 5G network. All your 4G sim cards (physical and esim card) are already 5G enabled and will have to no limitations for 5G. 

How is Airtel providing 5G Plus service in India?

All about 5G spectrum Bid.

The 5G spectrum Bid went live for 7 days and had 40 rounds for telcos to acquire their share in the 5G space. The auction featured 10 spectrum bands across low, mid, and high frequency bands.

10 spectrum bands in the 5G bid

  • Low – (600, 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, and 2500) MHz
  • Mid – 3,300 MHz
  • High – 26 GHz

Airtel bid on the mid frequency band of 3300 MHz to achieve a balance between speed and coverage. Theory being the low frequency bands offer better coverage whereas the high frequency bands offer the highest speed. The telco believes it can offer the best 5G experience with the 3,300 MHz mid frequency band. 

Therefore, the speed offered by Airtel 5G network is totally dependent on the spectrum and band used by the telco. According to a study by Ookla, Airtel can offer speeds between 365.48 Mbps to 716.85 Mbps due to the type of band they have chosen. 

Airtel 5G innovations

The hype and testing for 5G had started last year itself. In this period, Airtel used the 5G network for various innovations. Let’s take a look at those too.

  • First 5G powered Hologram
  • First 5G connected/powered ambulance
  • First private 5G network for Bosch
  • First live network 5G in Hyderabad

The above-mentioned are a few examples of Airtel 5G innovations. 

We hope this article helped you give more clarity on 5G speed and certain speed is dependent on the spectrum/frequency the carrier is operating its 5G network on! 

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