Bharti Airtel, India’s premier communications solutions provider, Thursday, announced that it has successfully conducted India’s first 5G trial in the 700 MHz bands in partnership with Nokia. It was conducted on the outskirts of Kolkata and it was also the first 5G trial in Eastern India.

Leveraging the enhanced propagation characteristics of the 700 MHz band, Airtel and Nokia were able to achieve high-speed wireless broadband network coverage of 40 Km between two 3GPP standards 5G sites in real-life conditions, the company said in a statement.

Airtel has been allotted test spectrum in multiple bands by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the validation of 5G technology and use cases.

Airtel used equipment from Nokia’s 5G portfolio, which included NokiaAirScale radios and standalone (SA) core.

Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Singh Sekhon said, “Back in 2012, Airtel launched India’s first 4G service in Kolkata. Today, we are delighted to conduct India’s first 5G demo in the coveted 700 MHz bands in the city to showcase the power of this technology standard. We believe that with the right pricing of 5G spectrum in the upcoming auctions, India can unlock the digital dividend and build a truly connected society with broadband for all.”

Nokia VP and Head of Bharti CT Naresh Asija said, “5G deployment using 700Mhz spectrum is helping communications service providers across the world to cost-effectively provide mobile broadband in remote areas, where typically it is challenging for them to set up the network infrastructure. Nokia is at the forefront in the development of the global 5G ecosystem, and we look forward to supporting Airtel on its 5G journey.”

Earlier this year Airtel demonstrated India’s first 5G experience over a live 4G network. It also demonstrated India’s first rural 5G trial as well as the first cloud gaming experience on 5G. As part of #5GforBusiness, Airtel has joined forces with leading global consulting and technology companies and brands to test 5G based solutions.