Airtel trials first private 5G network at BOSCH facility


In India, 5G is crucial for both the telecommunications sector and other sectors that heavily rely on automation. Typically, 5G operators will set up private network solutions for industries to boost the effectiveness of that particular business.

Having said that, Bharti Airtel has announced the successful testing of India’s first 5G private network at the Bangalore facility of Bosch Automotive Electronics India Pvt Ltd (RBAI). The trial effectively shows Airtel’s capacity to provide top-notch private network solutions for Industry 4.0.

The private 5G network provides enormous flexibility, improved security, and increased dependability. Additionally, it liberates the processes from reliance on wires, allowing Bosch to reap the rewards of operations automation.

At Bosch’s manufacturing facility, Airtel has implemented two industrial-grade use cases for quality improvement and operational efficiency using the trial spectrum. It is capable of managing thousands of connected devices and providing throughput at multiple GBPS.

Bosch Manufacturing Execution System was able to significantly reduce the time needed to evaluate the quality using Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) of surface-mounted devices thanks to the Airtel 5G Captive Private Network. It ensured faster data transfer over a very trustworthy and secure network to an AI/ML server for real-time decision-making, which improved the process’ efficiency (MES).

Furthermore, Airtel claims that the 5G network assisted Bosch shop floor managers and operators in identifying and resolving issues in real time, lowering the Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) and Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).

Regarding the trial, Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO – Airtel Busines said,

Airtel is committed to India’s digital transformation and supporting the development of its enterprise as they seek to acquire global scale. We believe that Airtel has the world class infrastructure, partnerships and expertise to deliver Captive Private Network Solution in any part of the country and to enterprise of any size.

Regarding the trial, Subhash P, Head of Technical Functions, Bosch Automotive Electronics India states:

The low latency and reliable connectivity provided by the Airtel Private 5G network at our facility which was experienced during the proof of concept is enabling us to enhance our efficiency and our productivity . Usage of 5G will significantly reduce IT wired infrastructure and enhance the operational effeciency.