iPhone Users in India Will Be Able to Access Airtel's 5G Services Soon: Report

Apple is reportedly conducting 5G tests in India.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Richa Sharma | Updated: 4 October 2022 18:57 IST

iPhone Users in India Will Be Able to Access Airtel's 5G Services Soon: Report

Photo Credit: Apple

iPhone models in India cannot access the 5G network currently

Highlights

Jio plans to provide 5G across India by December 2023
Airtel started rolling out 5G services in eight Indian cities
5G telecom services were launched in India last week

Apple iPhone users in India could soon be able to enjoy 5G services. Airtel's Chief Technology Officer Randeep Sekhon has reportedly confirmed that Airtel customers with iPhone models will be able to use its 5G networks soon. The Cupertino-based giant is conducting 5G tests in the country and Airtel has reportedly set up networks for the company. The 5G telecom services were launched in India last week during the India Mobile Congress in Delhi. Airtel's 5G services are currently available in eight cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, and Bangalore.

As per a report by Indian Express, Apple is currently testing 5G services in India. Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer of Airtel, reportedly said that iPhone users in the country would soon be able to access Airtel's 5G networks. The report quotes Sekhon as saying “Apple is currently testing 5G in India; we have set up special networks for them to test”.

Sekhon reportedly said that Airtel won't be sending an over-the-air (OTA) update to make 5G work on smartphones. Instead, the mobile handset manufacturer needs to push out a software update to enable 5G, the report added.

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Currently, iPhone models in India cannot access the 5G network in the country. According to Apple, iPhone 12 models or later work with the 5G cellular networks of certain carriers. The access to 5G could be unlocked on iPhone models via an OTA update.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G telecom services in India at the inauguration ceremony of the India Mobile Congress last week. Airtel has launched 5G services in select Indian cities, while Reliance Jio will start beta trial starting October 5.

Reliance Jio's 5G services will be initially available in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata by Diwali. Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani promised to deliver affordable 5G services across India by December 2023. Meanwhile, Airtel 5G has been launched in eight cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Siliguri, and Ahmedabad. More cities are expected to get the services by March next year, with pan-India coverage promised by March 2024. The company had placed orders for 5G gears with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung immediately after the 5G auctions were over.

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Apple unveiled eight new products at its September ‘Far Out' event. Which ones will float — and which will sink? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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iPhone 12

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good build quality
Dolby Vision HDR video recording
Excellent cameras
Smooth performance in everyday use

Bad
Battery life could be better
Gets warm when stressed

Read detailed Apple iPhone 12 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A14 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 64GB

OS iOS 14

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Apple, 5G, Airtel, Jio, iPhone

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More