Bharti Airtel on Monday announced the launch of Airtel Xstream AirFiber, a fixed wireless access (FWA) offering on 5G for consumers in Delhi and Mumbai.
Fixed Wireless Access offering aims to provide internet to customers in areas where access to fibre is a challenge, the company said in a release. According to the company, the pan-India rollout will be conducted in a phased manner. The need for Wi-Fi at home has grown exponentially in the past 3-4 years. With fibre to home connecting only 34 million homes in India, a very large number of customers struggle for fibre access, the release explained.
“Airtel Xstream AirFiber is the country’s first 5G wireless Wi-Fi solution that will offer internet to consumers in fibre dark areas. It will address the last-mile connectivity issue in both rural and urban India where access to fibre infrastructure is a challenge,” the company said. All Xstream AirFiber devices will be manufactured in India under the `Make in India’ programme. Xstream AirFiber is a plug-and-play device with in-built Wi-Fi 6 technology that will offer wide indoor coverage and can simultaneously connect up to 64 devices. AirFiber technology reduces time for providing 5G-based broadband connection to home and it has potential to connect homes at a higher pace compared to wireline connections.
Airtel at present takes 24 hours to three days depending on the availability of fibre and other conditions around the home to connect with a wireline. However, through AirFibre connection can be provided immediately after connection documentation is complete. “Airtel Xstream AirFiber service is available at an affordable 799 plan, which offers up to 100Mbps speed. The plan can be availed for a duration of six months with a one-time refundable security deposit of Rs 2500,” the release added. India has seen the rapid growth of home broadband but there are still areas with no access to hi-speed internet at home due to the physical challenges of laying fibre, Shashwat Sharma, Director Consumer Business Bharti Airtel said.
