Two major telcos missing from India’s 5G journey

NEW DELHI:  Though telecom service providers have deployed about 2,81,948 5G towers across the country as of July 7, 2023, two big telcos, India’s third-largest Vodafone Idea (VIL) and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), are nearly absent from 5G ecosystem. 

The country’s largest telco, Reliance Jio, has deployed the maximum number of towers, with 228,689 BTS units, followed by Bharti Airtel with 53,223 towers. VIL has merely deployed 36 5G towers in Delhi and Pune on a trial basis.

Since October 2022 Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal-led-Bharti Airtel have been rapidly installing their 5G networks in the country.  However Jio, which is using standalone technology to deploy the 5G network, has gained an edge over Airtel, which is deploying its 5G network with non-standalone technology. Debt-laden VIL is yet to begin commercial launch of its 5G network.

 The 5G deployment would have been much faster if VIL)were not almost missing from the 5G race. The reason cited by the company is a lack of funds and several other issues. VIL has stated it is in talks with vendors for the 5G rollout. However, during the earnings call after the results of the January-March quarter, VIL CEO Akshay Moondra also confirmed that the company didn’t experience any customer churn due to not having a 5G network.

Similarly, state-owned telco BSNL is still conducting trials for its 4G network. The telco is yet to launch commercial 4G services. However, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has previously maintained that once BSNL launches its 4G service, it will immediately switch to the 5G network. 

Jio deployed maximum number of towers 
Reliance Jio has deployed the maximum number of towers, with 228,689 BTS units, followed by Bharti Airtel with 53,223 towers. VIL has merely deployed 36 5G towers in Delhi and Pune on a trial basis

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