India added over 6,000 new 5G base stations (BTS) in July 2025, significantly higher than the over 4,000 BTS rolled out in the previous month of June 2025. Vodafone Idea (Vi) claims to be in the process of rolling out 5G in 17 priority circles—where the telco has acquired the 5G spectrum—by August 2025. This means that by the end of this month, we can expect the telco to complete its 5G rollout. Vi’s 5G services are currently available in 18 cities, with Meerut in Uttar Pradesh being the most recent addition. The company plans to expand its 5G coverage to more cities in the coming days.
According to the Department of Telecommunications, the total number of deployed 5G BTS stands at 4,92,520 as of the end of July 2025, up from 4,86,070 in June 2025, 4,81,758 in May 2025, and 4,78,459 as of the end of April 2025. This indicates that 6,450 5G BTS were deployed in July. June saw the addition of 4,312 5G BTS; May saw the addition of 3,299 5G BTS; April saw the addition of 4,225 5G BTS; March saw the addition of 4,442 5G BTS; while February saw the addition of 2,172 5G BTS.
Vodafone Idea: Vodafone Idea most recently launched its 5G services in Meerut starting August 1, 2025. “This expansion is part of Vi’s ongoing 5G rollout across many cities, in its 17 priority circles where it has acquired 5G spectrum,” the telco announced on July 31, 2025. The telco partnered with Nokia to deploy AI-powered Self-Organising Networks (SON) to automatically optimise network performance.
Reliance Jio: Reliance Jio recently said it has deployed 10 network slices on its indigenous 5G standalone (SA) core network to support a range of use cases. Jio’s network slicing technology is live nationwide, powering real-world applications purpose-built for a range of use cases, including enterprise applications, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud gaming, Jio’s fixed wireless access (FWA) service JioAirFiber, and mission-critical services.
Bharti Airtel: Airtel has partnered with Perplexity to offer a complimentary 12-month subscription to Perplexity Pro for all its customers across mobile, broadband, and DTH services. With this, over 360 million Airtel customers can experience AI capability services, marking Perplexity’s first collaboration with an Indian telecom operator.
BSNL: State-run telecom firm BSNL has signed a pact with public sector firm Numaligarh Refinery Limited for the deployment of a 5G private network in the refinery sector, BSNL said in a post on X on August 2, 2025.
“A significant milestone in India’s digital journey! BSNL and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) have partnered to pioneer Industry 4.0 adoption with advanced technologies like 5G CNPN, Digital Twins, AR/VR, IoT, and Big Data. This collaboration marks a transformative step toward industrial innovation, operational excellence, and a self-reliant digital India,” the statement read.
Under this MoU, BSNL and NRL will collaborate to deploy India’s first 5G CNPN (Captive Non-Public Network) within the refinery sector. BSNL has recently launched its 5G services, branded as Q 5G, and is now offering the ‘Azadi Ka Plan’ for new and MNP users to experience its 4G network.
The plan, priced at Rs 1, offers users unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day, and 2GB of data per day (40 Kbps after FUP)—all with a validity of 30 days—along with a free SIM. The offer is valid from August 1 to August 31, 2025.
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