26 October 2023
Bharti Airtel and Ericsson have successfully tested RedCap software on Airtel’s 5G network, which Airtel hopes will open up new IoT use cases for 5G in India.
The Airtel RedCap trial utilized Ericsson’s pre-commercial RedCap software and Qualcomm’s 5G RedCap test module on Airtel’s 5G TDD network, marking the first implementation and validation of RedCap in India.
RedCap (Reduced Capability) is an enhancement of 3GPP Release 17 that enables less complex, low-power devices to use 5G NR networks. In essence, it’s the 5G equivalent of NB-IoT, which enables IoT use cases for LTE networks. RedCap makes it feasible for devices such as wearables and industrial sensors to connect via 5G. While RedCap IoT devices by design don’t leverage the full capability of 5G NR, in future they can potentially support 5G NR features such as enhanced positioning and network slicing.
“We believe with RedCap’s broader applicability, Airtel will further innovate various use cases such as new applications for consumers, industries and enterprises,” said Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon.
