Bharti Airtel boasted its 5G service reached 3,000 cities and towns across India just days after rival Reliance Jio claimed its next-generation network was available in 2,300 urban areas and towns at end-March.

Airtel stated it is now providing 5G in every major urban and rural part of India.

CTO Randeep Sekhon added Airtel is committed to providing 5G in “every town and key rural areas” by September.

“We are witnessing a rapid adoption of 5G amongst customers both in urban and rural India.”

Airtel and Reliance Jio previously only disclosed the number of cities with 5G service.

In late March, Airtel claimed coverage of 500 cities, a few days after Jio revealed it hit 406. The operators began deployments in October 2022, with Jio aiming to reach 1,000 cities in less than 18 months.

The Economic Times reported the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India plans to set a requirement for Jio and Airtel to publish 5G subscribers numbers.

Vodafone Idea, which spent $2.5 billion on spectrum, has not revealed the timing of its 5G launch.