India Achieves 95 Percent Population Coverage With 4G, and Over 80 Percent With 5G: MoS Telecom

India Achieves 95 Percent Population Coverage With 4G, and Over 80 Percent With 5G: MoS Telecom
India’s progress in telecom infrastructure was highlighted by Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar. During the 11th BRICS Communications Ministers’ Meeting held in Brasilia, Brazil, India reaffirmed its commitment to inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready digital development, according to the Ministry of Communications.

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From Digital Divide to Global Digital Leadership

Chandra Sekhar highlighted India’s digital journey celebrating the transition from digital divide to digital leadership. The ambitious Digital Bharat Nidhi programme was showcased as a cornerstone initiative, funding landmark projects such as BharatNet, which now connects over 218,000 village councils with optical fiber infrastructure.

“India’s indigenous development and mass deployment of 4G and 5G technologies have enabled near-universal high-speed connectivity, now covering over 95 percent of the population with 4G and more than 80 percent with 5G. The country has also emerged as a global leader in affordable digital access, with the lowest data rates worldwide—just 12 cents per gigabyte,” the Minister said at the event.

Digital Public Infrastructure

Delivering India’s national statement, Chandra Sekhar presented India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a global benchmark for inclusive and transformative digital governance. He highlighted the pivotal role of flagship initiatives like Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in advancing universal and meaningful connectivity. He noted that Aadhaar has empowered over 950 million citizens with a secure digital identity, enabling seamless access to essential public and private services. UPI, he emphasised, has revolutionised real-time digital payments and now accounts for 46 percent of global digital transactions, according to the Ministry.