01 December 2023

In September and October, the deployment of 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) by operators in India has witnessed significant growth, exceeding 47,000.

In the last two months alone, a total of 47,316 BTS have been deployed across all states and Union Territories, as reported by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Consumers can now experience 5G in Lakshadweep, as the DoT reported the deployment of two 5G BTS in October. In September, Bharti Airtel announced that Airtel 5G services are available across all districts in the country, except for the islands of Lakshadweep, which are connected through a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). In 2019, Bharti Airtel became the first mobile operator to launch 4G services on the tropical archipelago. During the launch, Airtel 4G went live in Kavaratti, Bangaram, and Agatti islands, enabling this popular tourist destination with high-speed mobile connectivity.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed the highest number of 5G BTS additions with 6,772, followed by Maharashtra with 5,915 BTS, Bihar with 4,903 BTS, Rajasthan with 4,112 BTS, West Bengal with 3,474 BTS, and Gujarat with 3,287 5G BTS additions during the mentioned duration. In contrast, Manipur witnessed zero 5G BTS additions. Notably, Andaman and Nicobar saw the addition of 8 5G BTS, and Lakshadweep witnessed its first 5G BTS during the period.

As per the most recent update by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India has a 4G network coverage reaching 99% of the country, and 5G is experiencing one of the fastest rollouts globally. Only Airtel and Jio are currently live with 5G in India and are actively deploying 5G networks at a record pace to complete the 5G rollouts as per their scheduled timelines, respectively.