During September and October, the deployment of 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) by operators in India has witnessed significant growth, exceeding 47,000. TelecomTalk previously reported a surge of 60,000 5G BTS from July 2nd to August 28th. In the last two months alone, a total of 47,316 BTS have been deployed across all states and Union Territories, as reported by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
To highlight a specific achievement, users can now experience 5G in Lakshadweep, as the DoT reported the deployment of 2 5G BTS in October. Lakshadweep, a group of islands in the Arabian Sea off the southwestern coast of India, is renowned for its pristine white-sand beaches, coral reefs, and vibrant marine life.
Connectivity in Lakshadweep
In September, Bharti Airtel announced that Airtel 5G services are available across all districts in the country, except for the islands of Lakshadweep, which are connected through a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT). VSAT is a satellite communication system that employs small satellite dishes or antennas to facilitate two-way data communication.
In 2019, Bharti Airtel became the first mobile operator to launch 4G services on the tropical archipelago. During the launch, Airtel 4G went live in Kavaratti, Bangaram, and Agatti islands, enabling this popular tourist destination with high-speed mobile connectivity.
5G BTS Progress from September to October
Uttar Pradesh witnessed the highest number of 5G BTS additions with 6,772, followed by Maharashtra with 5,915 BTS, Bihar with 4,903 BTS, Rajasthan with 4,112 BTS, West Bengal with 3,474 BTS, and Gujarat with 3,287 5G BTS additions during the mentioned duration. In contrast, Manipur witnessed zero 5G BTS additions. Notably, Andaman and Nicobar saw the addition of 8 5G BTS, and Lakshadweep witnessed its first 5G BTS during the period.
Sl. No
State/UT
BTS as on
28 Aug 2023
31 Oct 2023
BTS Additions betwen the dates
1
Uttar Pradesh
35916
42688
6772
2
Maharashtra
34779
40694
5915
3
Bihar
13960
18863
4903
4
Rajasthan
17993
22105
4112
5
West Bengal
20961
24435
3474
6
Gujarat
22676
25963
3287
7
Madhya Pradesh
13745
16714
2969
8
Punjab
11513
13568
2055
9
Karnataka
22043
23996
1953
10
Tamil Nadu
28307
30230
1923
10
Andhra Pradesh
14520
16140
1620
12
Haryana
12936
14104
1168
13
Himachal Pradesh
2206
3141
935
14
Odisha
9709
10568
859
15
Jammu & Kashmir (UT)
4996
5851
855
16
Jharkhand
7553
8404
851
17
Telangana
14725
15554
829
18
Uttarakhand
4145
4768
623
Kerala
17503
18082
579
19
Assam
6535
7103
568
20
Chhattisgarh
5473
5763
290
21
Delhi
10693
10813
120
22
Sikkim
132
232
100
23
Goa
807
892
85
24
Arunachal Pradesh
360
443
83
25
Laddakh
133
210
77
26
Tripura
909
977
68
27
Meghalaya
442
500
58
28
Nagaland
504
560
56
29
UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
305
344
39
30
Puducherry (UT)
406
439
33
31
Mizoram
341
366
25
32
Chandigarh (UT)
637
659
22
33
Andaman & Nicobar
90
98
8
34
Lakshadweep (UT)
0
2
2
35
Manipur
619
619
0
3,38,572
3,85,888
47,316
5G in India
As per the most recent update by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India has a 4G network coverage reaching 99 percent of the country, and 5G is experiencing one of the fastest rollouts globally.
Currently, India has four wireless operators: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), Reliance Jio, being the private operations, and BSNL/MTNL, being the state-owned operators.
In India, only Airtel and Jio are currently live with 5G and are actively deploying 5G networks at a record pace to complete the 5G rollouts as per their scheduled timelines, respectively.
Vodafone Idea has not yet officially announced its 5G plans. However, as reported by TelecomTalk, Vi’s website has a footer update that 5G is live in select places.
Coming to BSNL, according to earlier reports, BSNL is supposed to commence large-scale 4G deployments post Diwali. Therefore, BSNL is currently in the process of deploying a 4G network that can be upgraded to 5G later.
Regarding pricing, both Airtel and Jio currently offer ‘Unlimited 5G,’ and there is zero monetization on 5G networks thus far. However, Airtel is the only operator that has announced that all 4G data packs work on 5G network when user is not on any Unlimited 5G data eligible plans. This means 5G is offered at 4G pricing or with 4G Data packs. There is no announcement of 5G pricing from Jio. As there is no 5G offering from Vi, there is no question about its 5G tariff or offering.
If this article saved you time or helped you decide better, consider supporting our work.