India had a total of 504,588 5G base stations as of the end of September
In sum – what to know:
Deployment pace accelerates – India added over 6,400 5G sites in September, bringing the nationwide total to more than half a million.
Momentum remains steady – Monthly expansions above 4,000 since March show consistent operator drive toward nationwide 5G coverage.
India continued to expand its 5G footprint in September 2025, deploying over 6,400 new 5G base transceiver stations (BTS), according to data from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The country’s total 5G BTS count reached 504,588 as of the end of September, up from 498,135 in August. The latest figures mark a faster pace of rollout compared with the 5,615 new sites added in August, underscoring sustained investment by domestic mobile operators in 5G infrastructure.
The Asian nation has now recorded monthly BTS additions above 4,000 since March 2025, signaling continued operator focus on expanding nationwide 5G coverage and capacity across the country.
Indian operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have started their 5G rollouts in October 2022. Currently, both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm offer 5G networks in all major cities across the country. While Jio is offering standalone 5G (5G SA) technology, Airtel has so far opted for non-standalone 5G (5G NSA).
Vodafone Idea, which initially launched 5G services in March this year, said it will continue with the deployment of 5G technology in India in a phased manner.
Meanwhile, state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will upgrade all of its indigenous 4G towers to 5G within six to eight months, local press recently eported, citing the country’s Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, as saying.
Scindia emphasized that the upgrade to 5G technology will rely entirely on India’s homegrown telecom stack, developed by C-DOT, Tejas Networks, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
BSNL plans to roll out 5G services in Delhi and Mumbai by December 2025, according to recent press reports.
