India witnessed the addition of over 7,000 5G BTS during the month of January 2024, according to the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) 5G Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Deployment Statistics. Specifically, a total of 7,635 BTS have been deployed across all states and Union Territories, according to the DoT, bringing the total 5G BTS count in India to 419,849 by the end of January, i.e., on January 31, 2024.
Also Read: Lakshadweep Sees the Addition of 5G BTS in October 2023
5G BTS Deployment
At the end of December, India had around 412,214 5G BTS, and this number increased to around 419,849 by the end of January 2024, according to the DoT. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan are the top five states which saw the highest addition of 5G BTS during the month. Ladakh witnessed the addition of 1 5G BTS; however, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep (UT) didn't see the addition of any 5G BTS.
Also Read: Airtel 5G Plus Enables High-Speed Connectivity in Lakshadweep for Tourists
5G BTS in January 2024
Sl. No | State/UT | BTS as on | BTS Additions in Jan 2024 | |
| 31 Dec 2023 | 31 Jan 2024 | |||
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 45746 | 46704 | 958 |
| 2 | Karnataka | 26681 | 27530 | 849 |
| 3 | West Bengal | 26233 | 26855 | 622 |
| 4 | Tamil Nadu | 31739 | 32276 | 537 |
| 5 | Rajasthan | 23915 | 24418 | 503 |
| 6 | Maharashtra | 43391 | 43881 | 490 |
| 7 | Bihar | 20118 | 20522 | 404 |
| 8 | Madhya Pradesh | 17911 | 18295 | 384 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 28359 | 28715 | 356 |
| 10 | Haryana | 14824 | 15110 | 286 |
| 11 | Odisha | 11264 | 11501 | 237 |
| 12 | Andhra Pradesh | 17270 | 17505 | 235 |
| 13 | Punjab | 14437 | 14644 | 207 |
| 14 | Telangana | 16133 | 16337 | 204 |
| 15 | Jammu & Kashmir (UT) | 6281 | 6476 | 195 |
| 16 | Assam | 7504 | 7692 | 188 |
| 17 | Manipur | 641 | 787 | 146 |
| 18 | Chhattisgarh | 6092 | 6232 | 140 |
| 19 | Jharkhand | 8835 | 8975 | 140 |
| 20 | Kerala | 18619 | 18730 | 111 |
| 21 | Himachal Pradesh | 3724 | 3827 | 103 |
| 22 | Delhi | 11012 | 11093 | 81 |
| 23 | Uttarakhand | 5202 | 5258 | 56 |
| 24 | Puducherry (UT) | 476 | 514 | 38 |
| 25 | Meghalaya | 597 | 622 | 25 |
| 26 | Tripura | 1068 | 1093 | 25 |
| 27 | Nagaland | 639 | 663 | 24 |
| 28 | Arunachal Pradesh | 492 | 515 | 23 |
| 29 | Chandigarh (UT) | 689 | 711 | 22 |
| 30 | Goa | 936 | 955 | 19 |
| 31 | Mizoram | 391 | 402 | 11 |
| 32 | UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 364 | 373 | 9 |
| 33 | Sikkim | 290 | 296 | 6 |
| 34 | Laddakh | 224 | 225 | 1 |
| 35 | Andaman & Nicobar | 115 | 115 | 0 |
| 36 | Lakshadweep (UT) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 412214 | 419849 | 7635 | |
Operator Landscape
Currently, only two private operators in India, namely Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, are deploying 5G Networks, while the other private telco, Vodafone Idea, is yet to announce their 5G Plans. BSNL says its 4G, which is currently in the rollout phase according to reports, is upgradable to 5G.
Also Read: 5G BTS Deployment in India Surges by Over 60,000
No 5G Monetisation
However, no telco in India is monetizing 5G as currently, 5G is offered on a free/unlimited basis. So, no real monetization is happening on the 5G investments. However, Airtel, as per the company's recent earnings call, stated that they do not believe that 5G should have differential pricing because monetization is about overall tariff repair, and overall tariff repair should happen.
