Hyderabad: City residents are enthused by the launch of 5G services, despite it being available only on a handful of phones and in select pockets. However, with the coverage expected to rise in the next few weeks, netizens are refusing to let the excitement die down, as many clocked speeds of 300-600 MBPS.
The fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks, i.e. 5G, was launched on October 6 in the city. This technology is only for mobile networks as Wi-Fi networks run on broadband technology.
Srinivas Reddy, who has used 5G service, said that there is a big difference in the internet speed and that people were unlikely to stick with 4G for long.
A representative for telecom company Airtel said that the 5G service is being rolled out in a phased manner and that it is expected to cover the entire city by the year-end.
Airtel 5G services are available only on Xiaomi, Redmi and Oppo handsets at present, while other handset manufacturers, including Apple, have announced that they will release updates soon, after which users can use 5G.
A representative for telecom Jio said the firm would launch 5G services by the end of October, and most key areas of the city will be covered, with coverage gradually expanding to the whole city.
It is to be noted that Jio previously carried out 5G tests across the country, with speeds over 800 MBPS being clocked, while in Delhi, a speed of 1 GBPS was logged. In comparison, the fastest 4G speed is 200 MBPS.
Netizens said that this would help them deploy heavier applications, especially games, on their phones. They have also been taking to Twitter to post the speed test results of the 5G network.
In some instances, netizens complained that 5G was not available despite their phones meeting the compatibility criteria and that speed was much lower than the average.
