Bharti Airtel on Monday (19 December) announced the launch of its cutting-edge 5G services in Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh.

Airtel 5G Plus services will be available to customers in Lucknow in a phased manner as the company continues to construct its network and complete the roll out.

Customers with 5G enabled devices will enjoy high speed Airtel 5G Plus network at no extra cost until the roll out is more widespread, the company said in a statement.

"Currently operational at Mall Road, Sanjoli, Dhalli, BhattaKufar, Ridge and Sanjoli Helipad Area and few other select locations, Airtel will augment its network making its services available across the city in due course of time," the company added.

Commenting on the launch, Pushpinder Singh Gujral, CEO, Upper North said, “I am thrilled to announce the launch of Airtel 5G Plus in Shimla. Airtel customers can now experience ultrafast network and enjoy speeds upto 20-30 times faster than the current 4G speeds. We are in the process of lighting up the entire city which will allow customers to enjoy superfast access to High-definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and more".

Airtel is offering the Non Standalone (NSA) version of 5G. In NSA mode, the 5G network is built over the existing layer of 4G network. It is different from the architecture of Standalone mode of 5G in which the network is built from scratch. 

The company, which has already made its 5G services live in multiple cities, plans to launch it country-wide by the end of next year.

Airtel 5G Plus services are currently live in 14 cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur, Varanasi, Panipat, Gurugram, Guwahati, Patna, Lucknow and Shimla.