Bharti Airtel and equipment maker Ericsson on Tuesday conducted India's first 5G network trial in Bhaipur Bramanan village on the outskirts of Delhi-NCR using 5G trial spectrum allocated to Airtel by the Department of Telecom.

The trial showcases the massive potential offered by 5G towards bridging the digital divide by enabling access to high-speed broadband through solutions such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services.

Put simply, 5G is the next-generation network technology that enables connecting virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices at ultra-high speeds and responsiveness, and with low latency.

"5G will be a transformational technology when it comes to delivering broadband coverage to the last mile through use cases like FWA and contribute to a more inclusive digital economy," Randeep Singh Sekhon, Airtel CTO said at a virtual event.

Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of Ericsson South east Asia, Oceania and India said 5G will serve as a "socio-economic multiplier" for the country.

As per a study by Ericsson, on an average, a 10 per cent increase in the mobile broadband adoption ratio causes a 0.8 per cent increase in GDP, Mirtillo noted.

(With PTI inputs)