Airtel, Qualcomm Team Up For 5G Telecom Push In India

Bharti Airtel, which provides telecommunications services, is teaming up with Qualcomm, a chipmaker and wireless tech company, to accelerate the pace of the 5G rollout in India. The companies said the partnership’s activities would “create new opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to become viable players in the deployment of 5G networks.”

In a press release, the companies said their 5G services “will be able to deliver multi-gigabit internet speeds wirelessly to customers and open up a wide range of innovations.” Customers will be able to have “gigabit-size file downloads in seconds and 4K video streaming … across smartphones and computing devices,” as well as smart homes and connected devices.

“Our networks are fully ready for 5G,”said Randeep Sekhon, Bharti Airtel’s chief technology officer. He said the two companies’ technologies “will be well placed to usher India into the next era of hyper-fast … digital connectivity.” Bharti Airtel is headquartered in New Delhi.

“This collaboration is expected to play a critical role in Airtel’s plans to add 5G network coverage and capacity where and when it is needed the most,” said Rajen Vagadia, president of Qualcomm India.

India has increasingly been a focus for Qualcomm, which is headquartered in San Diego. Last July, Qualcomm’s investment arm agreed to put up to $97 million into Jio Platforms, an Indian telecom company.

Qualcomm said at the time that the Qualcomm Ventures investment would bolster Mumbai-based Jio’s 5G and wireless capabilities.

“With unmatched speeds and emerging use cases, 5G is expected to transform every industry in the coming years,” Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said at the time. “As an enabler and investor with a longstanding presence in India, we look forward to playing a role in Jio’s vision to further revolutionize India’s digital economy.”

Jio is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. “Qualcomm has been a valued partner for several years, and we have a shared vision of connecting everything by building a robust and secure wireless and digital network and extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone in India,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.