With Airtel and Jio both announcing their 5G services, users in select cities can now finally witness and experience the much-awaited fifth-gen cellular connectivity on their devices. The 5G services will work on existing SIMs, as confirmed by the telcos, and users can use their existing data plans to browse 5G on their devices. That said, Airtel 5G Plus and Jio True 5G rollout will happen in a phased manner. This means that 5G services will only be available in a handful of cities for the next few months. With that being said, in this article, we’ll be providing a list of cities where you can experience Airtel 5G Plus and Jio True 5G services in India.
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5G launch in India
The past couple of months saw some rapid developments in terms of 5G by the telecom operators in India. From conducting on-site 5G speed demonstrations and tests to partnering with technological companies to procuring 5G bands in the spectrum auctions, the telcos did it all. There surely were a series of delays in between, but all things considered, 5G has officially been launched in the country.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 5G services in India at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022. After this, Airtel and Jio both laid out their 5G rollout plans in India. Airtel 5G services will be available in a handful of cities initially, while Jio has launched its Jio True 5G services in an invite-based phased manner.
List of cities where Airtel 5G services are available
Airtel has launched 5G in eight cities across India. This will be followed by a wider rollout until every region gets Airtel 5G, which will happen by March 2024. For now, here’s a list of cities where Airtel 5G services are available
- Delhi
- Mumbai
- Chennai
- Bengaluru
- Hyderabad
- Siliguri
- Nagpur
- Varanasi
Keep in mind that users will have to manually enable 5G on their compatible smartphones to actually use the 5G services offered by the telco.
List of cities with Jio 5G services
Jio 5G services are only available in four cities for now. However, the telco has promised it will cover every talukdar and district of India by the end of 2023. Here’s a quick look at the cities where Jio 5G or True 5G services are currently live:
- Delhi
- Mumbai
- Varanasi
- Kolkata
That said, to experience Jio True 5G, the telecom giant has stated that the rollout will be an invite-based only where a handful of users will be picked and selected for the “Jio Welcome Offer”. In this program, users can share their experiences and feedback with regard to Jio’s 5G services. This will enable the company to kink out any flaws in its network, which in turn will make up for a stable rollout when 5G goes live nationwide in the next couple of months. Additionally, users need to ensure they’re having a 5G-enabled smartphone with an active recharge plan to use 5G services.
Cities that will get 5G services by the end of 2022
As per the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the following are the cities that will be getting 5G services from various telecoms by the end of 2022.
- Ahmedabad
- Bengaluru
- Chandigarh
- Chennai
- Delhi
- Gandhinagar
- Gurugram
- Hyderabad
- Jamnagar
- Kolkata
- Lucknow
- Mumbai
- Pune
Make sure to keep a tab on announcements from the telecom networks to know when the Airtel 5G Plus and Jio True 5G services will be going live in your city.
FAQs
Do you need a 5G SIM to use 5G services?
Both Airtel and Reliance Jio have stated that the existing 4G SIMs with the users are already 5G enabled. This means that whenever 5G goes live in a user’s city or location, they can start using 5G services right away provided they have a 5G-supported smartphone and an ongoing active recharge plan. Since the 5G recharge plan details have not been yet revealed, the existing plans will continue to support 5G until further notice by the telecom operators.
How to check if my phone supports 5G?
For starters, you can go through your phone’s retail box or the company’s website to check if your smartphone is 5G enabled. That said, Airtel 5G is only available on Xiaomi, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo, and OPPO smartphones. Visit Airtel’s website for the complete list.
