India joined the list of countries with 5G Networks with the launch of 5G services in October 2022 at IMC. Bharti Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, followed by Reliance Jio. Global telecom leaders have acknowledged the pace of 5G rollouts in India, and GSMA has conferred Government Leadership Award 2023 to India for its Telecom Policy and Reforms at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress.
Also Read: Indian Telecom Policy and Reforms Hailed by GSMA
According to the 5G BTS data released by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), there are around 1,02,215 5G BTS Deployed in India as of March 5, 2023. Maharastra witnessed the highest 5G BTS deployments with 15,394 BTS, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Sikkim also got the 5G Networks now with the deployment of 5G BTS, which was not done as of February 16, 2023.
| Sl. No | State/UT | BTS as on Feb 16, 2023 | BTS as on Mar 05, 2023 |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 1908 | 2194 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 21 | 29 |
| 3 | Assam | 749 | 1103 |
| 4 | Bihar | 1992 | 2583 |
| 5 | Chandigarh (UT) | 352 | 411 |
| 6 | Chattisgarh | 915 | 1138 |
| 7 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 5 | |
| 8 | Daman (UT) | 10 | 36 |
| 9 | Delhi | 6767 | 7843 |
| 10 | Diu (UT) | 4 | 8 |
| 11 | Goa | 121 | 184 |
| 12 | Gujarat | 7041 | 8358 |
| 13 | Haryana | 3594 | 4429 |
| 14 | Himachal Pradesh | 283 | 433 |
| 15 | Jammu & Kashmir | 275 | 362 |
| 16 | Jharkhand | 1428 | 2004 |
| 17 | Karnataka | 5559 | 7255 |
| 18 | Kerala | 2090 | 3096 |
| 19 | Madhya Pradesh | 2277 | 2987 |
| 20 | Maharashtra | 13993 | 15394 |
| 21 | Manipur | 199 | 322 |
| 22 | Meghalaya | 47 | 64 |
| 23 | Mizoram | 39 | 67 |
| 24 | Nagaland | 99 | 137 |
| 25 | Odisha | 1342 | 1798 |
| 26 | Puducherry (UT) | 85 | 107 |
| 27 | Punjab | 1842 | 2778 |
| 28 | Rajasthan | 4116 | 4685 |
| 29 | Sikkim | 3 | |
| 30 | Tamilnadu | 7354 | 8791 |
| 31 | Telangana | 4596 | 5046 |
| 32 | Tripura | 137 | 195 |
| 33 | Uttar Pradesh | 8083 | 10360 |
| 34 | Uttarakhand | 661 | 957 |
| 35 | West Bengal | 6367 | 7053 |
| Total | 84346 | 102215 |
5G in India
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are the only two telcos which are progressing with 5G deployments in India, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) is actively engaged with Network Vendors, Device partners and Investors for capital infusion. Minister of State (MoS) for Communications Devusinh Chauhan, in December 2022, informed the Parliament that telcos are deploying around 2,500 base stations per week for 5G.
Also Read: Airtel Launches 5G in 125 Cities at Once: Details
Most recently, Bharti Airtel announced the launch of Airtel 5G Plus services in 125 cities taking the total count of Airtel 5G Plus cities to over 265 in the country. Likewise, with Reliance Jio's most recent announcement of 5G in 27 new cities, the total number of cities with Jio 5G availability goes to 331.
Bharti Airtel says it will connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus, and the 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024. Likewise, Jio plans to cover every town and city in the country by December 2023. Bharti Airtel is on its plan to cover 300 cities with Airtel 5G Plus by March 2023.
You can check out the exact Airtel 5G Plus launch details, circles, spectrum holdings and locations of 5G availability in India on the page here.
Also Read: Bharti Airtel Creates Airtel 5G Plus Experience Zones at Stores
Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city, from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari. Airtel has recently hiked its entry-level offerings to Rs 155 by removing the Rs 99 Prepaid plan. According to a report Indian Telecom industry would need to spend around Rs 3 Lakh crore for 5G Backhaul Fiberisation and other digital infrastructure deployment costs.
