While other telecom operators are slowly picking up the idea of the 5G technology, Airtel is in no mood to waste time thinking over the possibilities, instead, the telco is prepared with its plans based on the 5G network. Airtel demonstrated futuristic use cases of the 5G technology at the Indian Mobile Congress, 2018. The telecom operator unveiled the use cases like connected homes and cars, augmented reality-based holographic communications, virtual-reality based content, and even autonomous drone operations over the 5G network.
Airtel has collaborated with Ericsson, Huawei, and some other network vendors to showcase the pioneering usability of the 5G technology in India.
Airtel and Ericsson Team Up to Present Self-Driving Drones
During the IMC 2018, Airtel and Ericsson came together to demonstrate the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations over a 5G network. The companies highlighted the use of high bandwidth and the ultra-low latency of the 5G network to demonstrate mission-critical applications using drones. The applications include advanced disaster recovery services, remote surveillance, critical delivery of medicine, equipment, food, water, and even a quick deployment of a cellular network to enable communications using drones.
Speaking at the event, Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel stated, “5G networks have the potential to truly transform lives. As part of our endeavor to leverage technology that truly adds value to our lives and the society, we are pleased to demonstrate this powerful use case. Large-scale deployment of 5G networks over the coming years will open unlimited avenues for innovating use cases that can solve complex problems.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of South East Asia, Oceania and India at Ericsson said, “Our association with Bharti Airtel for the 5G based drone operations is one of the early use cases on 5G that we have co-developed in India. 5G connectivity enables the control and operation of drone beyond visual line of sight enabling applications like disaster management and remote surveillance amongst others. At Ericsson, we are working closely with telecom operators across the world and in India to develop 5G use cases that are relevant to the specific needs of the market“.
Airtel Demonstrates AR-based Holographic 5G Communication at IMC
In a separate partnership with Huawei, Airtel presented the concept of holographic 5G communication based on AR, at the Indian Mobile Congress. The AR technology has plenty of use cases in the fields like assisted learning and training, gaming, live events and more. Airtel and Huawei also teamed up for the VR-based use case of the 5G network using a virtual iPad.
Airtel has also collaborated with Nokia to showcase a Virtual Reality-based 360-degree experience that can be streamed over a 5G network. Further, the idea of a connected car by Airtel showed how the ‘Internet of Things’ can benefit the driver using the auto telemetry by collecting the key parameters and the real-time functioning data of the car.
Airtel’s connected home 5G, on the other hand, also leverages advanced IoT technology with smart devices and appliances. The connected home runs over a 1 Gbps V-fiber link to kick off a smooth digital experience in action. Airtel also showcased an in-house created multi-screen video platform to display digital content across different devices.
Airtel CTO, in an official statement, said, “Airtel has been a pioneer when it comes to introducing latest technologies, and innovation is core to our DNA, and we will continue to build exciting digital products for a Digital India.”
