5G SIM Card in India: Do You Need a New SIM for 5G?
5G is getting very popular day by day. Several people around the world are always looking for the latest device. Now, almost all the latest smartphones come with 5G connectivity. 5G is rapidly rolling out all over the world. However, many people are concerned about whether their old 4G SIM will work in a 5G phone. Here, we will give you the right explanation on this topic.
People always try to keep their phone numbers as long as possible. It will be annoying to change our phone numbers frequently. We could find it a little annoying having to share the new phone number with our contacts and changing it in all our important accounts. In that case, if you have been using a SIM card for a long time, it is likely to be a 4G SIM card. So, will this 4G SIM work in a new 5G smartphone to offer a 5G Network?
5G Launch Date: When will Telecom operators roll out their 5G services in India? PM Modi launched 5G officially in India on October 1, 2022.
5G Bands: You already have a 5G smartphone, but how many 5G bands does it support? Will your 5G phone perform in India? Following this article, you can quickly check the 5G Bands of a Phone.
Jio Phone 5G: Reliance Jio will launch its Jio Phone 5G soon as its next affordable smartphone.
Can You Use Your Old 4G SIM Card in a 5G Phone?
The simple answer is yes. You don’t need to buy a new 5G SIM card for a new 5G smartphone. You can easily use your old 4G SIM card on your latest 5G phone. If your SIM card works well with 4G/LTE networks, then it will also work with 5G whenever it goes live in your area. It will work and connect to data.
Additionally, telecom operator like Airtel has said that with an existing 4G SIM, you can get access to the 5G network.
The 4G SIM card will work in a new 5G phone, and you can avail of 5G services. But, there might be some limitations. If you want to get all the experiences about connecting to the new 5G network, you will need to have a new 5G SIM. In that case, you will have to upgrade your 4G SIM to a 5G SIM card.
Airtel 5G SIM:
Airtel has confirmed that Airtel 4G SIM users need not change their 4G SIM to a 5G SIM and can enjoy 5G services without a 5G SIM. You don’t need to buy a new 5G SIM card to access Airtel 5G services in India. It should be noted to get the most out of the 5G network; you will have to upgrade to a 5G SIM.
During RIL’s Annual General Meeting, Jio said it would bring Standalone 5G to India. This suggests that Jio’s 5G infrastructure has been built from scratch. The company may ask users to upgrade to a 5G SIM because of the Standalone 5G. Your existing Jio 4G SIM may not work with a 5G phone.
Another report from ET Telecom reveals that you can use an existing Jio 4G SIM card to avail of 5G services. There will be an opt-in option for customers so that they can automatically upgrade to a 5G network without changing their SIM. This suggests that Jio may use existing LTE technology to deploy the 5G service. Will Jio use NSA initially and later switch to 5G SA? The answer is not clear yet. We will have to wait for Jio’s official statement.
Do you need a new SIM for the 5G Network in India?
The straightforward answer is No. Some 4G SIM cards are forward-compatible with 5G networks. So, you will get a 5G network with your existing 4G SIM. Telecom companies like Airtel have said that you will not need to buy a new 5G SIM card to access 5G services. That means we can say that we will not need a 5G SIM card in India, at least for Airtel. However, in the future, you may have to buy a new 5G SIM card to avail of 5G to its maximum potential.
Airtel has opted for the NSA mode
Bharti Airtel 5G is based on a Non-Standalone 5G (NSA) infrastructure. It allows Airtel to use 4G technology at no extra cost. There might be other reasons as well, such as (1) lack of a well-developed ecosystem for SA devices and (2) SA mode only works effectively when there are sub-GHz frequencies included with the 3.5 GHz spectrum. Since the 5G NSA solution uses the existing 4G infrastructure, Airtel users need not upgrade to a 5G SIM in India.
Jio’s 5G is based on SA mode
5G SA is expensive compared to 5G NSA. However, Jio can afford 5G SA and wants to offer a SA network’s capabilities. Other possible reasons include (1) 5G NSA doesn’t deliver any breakthrough performance, and (2) 5G SA can reduce power consumption as it doesn’t need to operate with 4G LTE. So to use Jio 5G SA, you will probably have to upgrade to a 5G SIM card.
Please stay connected with us; we will answer all your queries once the Telecom Operator provides official information.
