Airtel completes country's first 5G private network trial at Bosch unit

Bharti Airtel has completed a successful trial of the country’s first 5G private network at Bosch Automotive Electronics’ facility at Bengaluru.

The trial comes ahead of a 5G spectrum auction this month and amid a battle among telecom and IT companies on spectrum allotment for private networks.

Airtel implemented two Industrial-grade use cases for quality improvement and operational efficiency at Bosch’s unit, utilising the trial spectrum allotted by the government. In both cases, 5G technology such as mobile broadband and ultra-reliable low-latency communications drove automated operations ensuring faster scale-up and

reduced downtimes, the company said in a statement on Friday.

The private network set up on a trial basis id capable of managing thousands of connected devices along with delivering multi-GBPS throughput.

Ajay Chitkara, director and CEO – Airtel Business said, “Airtel is committed to India’s digital transformation and supporting the development of its enterprise as they seek to acquire global scale.”

Subhash P, head of technical functions, Bosch Automotive Electronics India, said, “The low latency and reliable connectivity provided by the Airtel Private 5G network at our facility which was experienced during the proof of concept is enabling us to enhance our efficiency and our productivity. Usage of 5G will significantly reduce IT wired infrastructure and enhance the operational efficiency.”