“We are already in 3,500 cities and towns out of about 7,000 cities. We will finish urban coverage and some major rural areas this year,” Vittal said.
Jio has already said that the telco will deliver Jio 5G in every city, every taluka and every tehsil of our country by December 2023.
During the company’s earnings call, Vittal said Airtel’s decision not to bid for premium 700 MHz band spectrum and go for NSA 5G network is providing better coverage at lower cost.
Unlike SA which is used by India’s largest telecom company Reliance Jio In addition to providing only 5G networks, the NSA allows telecom companies to provide a mix of 5G, 4G and other networks.
“We are not in a mad rush to compete on the number of sites. The technology we are using is different. The NSA is fundamentally different from the SA. It gives us more coverage,” news agency PTI reported. “
Vittal said the company’s smart investments, experience and strong mid-band holding over a period of 4 years is giving Airtel “better coverage, lower capex, lower carbon footprint and better experience. Standalone network is enterprise ready as well.”
Airtel will have to spend Rs 28,500 crore on 5G expansion
According to the company, Airtel’s investment in the network is expected to be around Rs 28,500 crore.
“I think the capital expenditure for the quarter is Rs 9,000 crore, but if you take the full two years, the capital expenditure for the full year is around Rs 28,500 crore,” Vittal said.
The telco also said that it has stopped expanding capacity in 4G networks and has offloaded up to 30% of traffic in areas where 5G has been launched.