Bharti Airtel, telecom giant announced its plan to launch ‘Airtel Xstream AirFiber,’ India’s first fixed wireless access (FWA) offering 5G for consumers in Delhi and Mumbai, said the company in its exchange filling. All Xstream AirFiber devices will be manufactured in India under the “Make in India” programme, said the company.

Airtel's new launch will be India’s first 5G wireless Wi-Fi solution that will offer internet to consumers in fiber-dark areas. The company hopes to address the last-mile connectivity issue present in both rural and urban India where access to fiber infrastructure is a challenge. At present, fiber-to-home internet services are only connecting only 34 million homes in India, and a very large number of customers struggle for fiber access.

The company said that the AirFiber service will be available at a plan starting at Rs 799, 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 2500. Interested customers residing in Delhi and Mumbai can visit selected Airtel stores to avail this service or visit the company's website for more updates. “Today, we are delighted to launch Xstream AirFiber for consumers in Delhi and Mumbai with a pan-India rollout planned soon,” Commenting on the initiative, Shashwat Sharma, Director Consumer Business Bharti Airtel, said.

Recently, Bharti Airtel had announced its Q1 FY24 results. Airtel's consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 14.1 percent on year at Rs 37, 440 crore, while consolidated Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) grew 18.9 percent. Consolidated profit for the quarter was flat on-year due to exceptional loss reported by the Africa business on the back of the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira.