Airtel Uganda has today announced that their Smartphone Network is now ready for the trailblazing 5G technology. The development was announced at their Clement Hill office by the Managing Director, Mr. Manoj Murali.
“I am privileged to announce yet another Airtel first milestone in Uganda’s digital transformation journey. Airtel Uganda is now 5G ready.” Mr. Manoj said
“Since 2018, Ugandans have known us for a 4G network that covers this beautiful country border to border. Over this network, Airtel Uganda has delivered world class affordable voice, data, and financial services. We are pleased to start yet another journey with you on 5G” he added
The telecom giant has now applied for the required spectrum from the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to allow the roll out of 5G across the country.
Airtel has so far tested their 5G technology successfully on 11 towers in Uganda including areas such as Industrial area, Garden City Area, Upper Kololo, Clement Hill, Hannington Road, Lower airstrip Kololo and Wampewo Avenue. All other Airtel sites across the country have been configured and are ready for deployment once UCC allocates them this new spectrum.
Airtel Customers with 5G compatible devices will soon be able to enjoy the 5G experience using their existing 4G SIM Cards.
“According to the National Development Plan III, use of ICT infrastructure is a key objective. An agile Smartphone network like Airtel Uganda’s is pivotal in the journey of Uganda’s Economic growth through digital and financial inclusion of every person. We are completely aligned to the Uganda’s broadband Strategy and accordingly ready to launch 5G technology” Mr Manoj said
What is 5G?
5G is a 5th generation mobile network that enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices at very high speeds. It delivers higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.
5G can support a significant higher number of devices per square kilometer compared to the existing 4G technologies. This makes 5G the suitable network over which remote teams can collaborate to undertake tasks like surgery, shared online school classes, farmers can share live video farming tips, engineering tasks over video and stream gaming and other entertainment experiences.