Bharti Airtel is planning to deploy pre-5G network technology at Kumbh Mela, a regional festival between January 15 and March 4, in Allahabad.
“Airtel is also boosting its mobile network at the Kumbh Mela venue. It will be deploying Massive MIMO technology at the venue to massively enhance its network capacity,” Airtel said in statement.

Massive MIMO is a pre-5G technology that expands network capacity by 5-7 times over the same spectrum and helps a large number of concurrent users to enjoy a seamless high speed data experience, Airtel said.

The deployment of the new mobile sites will start this week. Bharti Airtel will also deploy temporary sites and small cell sites will also be deployed at the venue.

Airtel had deployed this technology at all major venues of IPL cricket matches last year to enhance coverage and better customer experience.

The telecom firm also announced initiatives to offer a digital Kumbh Mela 2019 experience to its customers.

Besides new mobile site, Airtel smartphone customers will be able to stream the Kumbh proceedings — including important Snans (religious bath) and Aartis — on the Airtel TV app.