India’s telecom sector has made significant progress in expanding 5G connectivity, backed by large-scale investments and rapid network deployment. Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Lok Sabha that telecom service providers have invested nearly ₹4 lakh crore in rolling out 5G networks across the country.
“As far as 5G is concerned, 5G networks are available in 99.9% districts of India today. About 5 lakh BTSs (base transceiver stations) have been deployed, and ₹4 lakh crore has been invested by our TSPs (telecom service providers),” Scindia said.
Currently, 40 crore users out of India’s total 1.2 billion telephone subscribers are accessing 5G services. “The number of 5G users will increase from 40 crore presently to 100 crore by 2030, according to estimates,” Scindia stated.
Major telecom operators, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), are offering 5G services nationwide. Jio and Airtel have also introduced commercial 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services to strengthen monetisation of their networks.
According to Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, India is expected to account for 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, achieving 79% penetration. The growth is projected alongside a decline in 4G subscriptions.
At present, 5G adoption is accelerating due to wider network expansion, affordable 5G FWA routers, and rising data consumption. Ericsson estimates that the country will have 394 million 5G subscribers by the end of this year, representing 32% of total mobile subscriptions.
Despite this growth, 4G remains the dominant technology, accounting for 49% of total mobile subscriptions. However, 4G subscriptions are expected to drop from around 600 million in 2025 to nearly 190 million by 2031, as users transition to 5G.
“India has seen the fastest 5G deployments globally,” Scindia said. “In just 22 months since rollout, 5G became available nationwide.”
The rapid expansion signals India’s strong push towards next-generation digital infrastructure and wider adoption of high-speed connectivity.
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