Government data shows that India had 518,854 5G base stations in operation by the end of 2025
In sum – what to know:
400 million 5G users – India now ranks second globally behind China and ahead of the U.S., EU, and Japan in total 5G subscribers.
Fast adoption – Commercial 5G services began in October 2022, making India one of the quickest markets to scale nationwide usage.
Network expansion – 5G base stations reached 518,854 by the end of 2025, supporting rapid subscriber uptake across the country.
India has surpassed 400 million 5G users, making it the world’s second-largest 5G market after China and one of the fastest adopters globally since launching commercial services in late 2022.
In a social media post announcing the milestone, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the country’s union minister for communications and development of the North Eastern Region, said the country is “setting new global benchmarks in scale, speed and digital transformation.”
According to figures cited by the minister, the country’s 5G subscriber base now exceeds that of other major markets, including the United States with around 350 million users, the European Union with 200 million, and Japan with 190 million. China remains the global leader, with more than one billion 5G connections.
India’s commercial 5G rollout began in October 2022, with operators initially launching services in selected cities before rapidly expanding coverage nationwide. Local carriers Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm were the first to introduce 5G services and each reported reaching 50 million users within their first year of operation. Vodafone Idea followed later, launching 5G in select cities during 2025. Meanwhile, state-run telco BSNL is expected to launch 5G services this year. Government officials previously said that the upgrade to 5G technology by BSNL will rely entirely on India’s homegrown telecom stack, developed by C-DOT, Tejas Networks, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Government data shows that India had 518,854 5G base stations in operation by the end of 2025, up from approximately 464,990 at the beginning of the year. Local operators deployed 4,112 new 5G base transceiver stations (BTS) in December 2025, taking the nationwide total to 518,854, according to data from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
