5G has grown rapidly in India. However, lately, the speed at which the telcos were deploying 5G BTSes (base transceiver stations). In September 2024, India added 3385 5G BTS. The total site count went up from 4,53,794 to 4,57,179. Back in August, this number went up by around 1500 only. Are you wondering why Indian telecom operators have reduced the pace at which they were adding 5G BTS? It is because they are moderating the capex levels towards 5G and focusing more on increasing profitability.
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Both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel met their 5G rollout targets earlier this year. Now the addition of BTS and small cells is just to improve coverage. There is no major 5G monetisation happening at the moment and thus it wouldn't lure telcos into spending more for something that isn't quite bringing the returns in the short-term. 5G is a long-term play and that's evident by what's happening in the market.
The total 5G BTS has to go way beyond the current number and it will, but not any time soon. In the future, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) will also be rolling out 5G, adding to the list of total 5G BTS. In August 2023, the total 5G BTS count in India was 3,38,572. So from that number, the 5G BTS count has grown significantly.
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What's interesting here is that a majority of the 5G BTS is deployed by Reliance Jio. This is because Jio is deploying 5G SA, while Bharti Airtel can sustain with lower count of 5G BTS as it is rolling out 5G NSA. It has been two years since 5G was rolled out in India and the rollout speed by the telcos has been impressive. Consumers have also enjoyed truly unlimited 5G over these two years from Jio and Airtel.
