5G cellular service coming soon to India: Key aspects you should know

Depending on 5G bands, smartphones will be able to support super-fast 5G speed between 1Gbps and 10Gbps

All three major cellular service providers Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vi (Vodafone-Idea) have announced that they will be bringing 5G services very soon to India.

As per industry sources, one or two players are geared up to roll out the commercial 5G cellular service in October ahead of Deepavali.

Here are some of the key aspects of 5G cellular service you should know:
--The upcoming 5G service is touted to offer more than 10X times the speed of current 4G network connectivity.

-- Unlike the mmWave 5G band in the west, cellular service providers in India will be offering mid and low-frequency bands under Sub-6GHz 5G range. Though the latter is a bit slower than mmWave, it will be more reliable in terms of offering seamless connectivity from long distances from network towers and there won't be any issues of signal losing strength within the walled confines of a house or an office with a concrete roof.

On the other hand, mmWave is super fast, but unreliable as even the wood of the door or window can obstruct the connectivity. The phone has to be at a short distance from a cellular service tower to get super-fast internet

-- Airtel has acquired five bands-- 900 MHz (n8), 1800 MHz, 2100MHz(n1), 3300 MHz(n78), and 26 GHz (n258)-- for pan India 5 service

-- Reliance has acquired five bands-- 700MHz (n28), 800MHz(n5), 1800MHz (n3), 3300MHz(n78) and 26GHz (n258)-- for pan India 5G service

-- Vodafone has bought just two 5G bands 3300MHz (n78) and 26GHz (n258)

--If your 5G phones support any of the five bands (n8, n28, n1, n78, n258), then you will be able to enjoy high-speed internet

--In India, 5G smartphone users will be able to enjoy wireless download speeds anywhere between 1Gbps and 10Gbps

-- In the first phase, 5G services will be rolled out in all major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and others. The telecom companies are expected to expand 5G service to other cities and towns of the country by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

Should you have to buy a new SIM to enable 5G on your phone?
Most probably not. Your current SIM on the phone that has 4G-LTE support will be able to establish a connection with 5G cellular towers across India, provided the phone supports any of these--n8, n28, n1, n78, and n258 bands.

Will 5G connectivity impact your phone's battery?
The phone's battery drains the fastest when you stream content with cellular connectivity on. Though you will see a noticeable fast pace of downloading or buffer-free streaming speed, it will eat away the battery.

It should be noted that Reliance Jio has announced bringing a 5G-powered AirFiber Wi-Fi router to India.

Read more | Key features of 5G-powered wireless Jio AirFiber service

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