Figures from India’s Ministry of Communications pegged the country’s 5G base station count at 469,000 at end-February, with active subscribers reaching more than 250 million less than two and a half years after launch.

The ministry noted 5G service is available in all states and 99.6 per cent of districts across the country. Its subscriber count differs significantly from the operators’ own numbers.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel started rolling out 5G service in October 2022.

Vodafone Idea launched the service in Mumbai last week, with plans to deploy 10,000 5G sites across 17 service areas in the current fiscal year (ending 31 March) and another 12,000 in fiscal 2026.

Jio closed 2024 with 170 million 5G users, up 15 per cent year-on-year and accounting for 35 per cent of mobile users. Airtel’s count reached 120 million.

China Mobile alone claimed some 2.4 million 5G base stations at end 2024, with China Unicom close behind with 2.2 million. The operators launched 5G in late 2019.

Last week, China Mobile laid out plans to add 340,000 5G base stations this year.