News Brief
India Nears Full 5G Coverage: Services Now Available In 773 Out Of 776 Districts
5G services in India (Representative Image) (Twitter)
The 5G telecom services have been rolled out in 773 out of 776 districts in the country, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (12 March).
Further, the government said that all states and UTs have now access to 5G services.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the 5G services in the country in October 2022.
"5G services have been rolled out in all States/ UTs across the country and presently it is available in 773 out of 776 districts in the country," Union Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister further informed that as of the end of February, nearly 4.7 lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed.
"As on 28.02.2025, 4.69 lakhs 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) across the country," he said.
According to the minister, Telecom Service Providers have expanded the 5G services across the country and have gone beyond the minimum rollout obligations, as prescribed in the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for spectrum auction.
He added that expansion of mobile services beyond these obligations depends on the techno-commercial consideration of the TSPs.
i. Auction of spectrum for 5G mobile services.
ii. Financial reforms to rationalize Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), Bank Guarantees (BGs) and interest rates.
iii. Removal of Spectrum Usage Charges for spectrum acquired in auction of 2022 and thereafter.
iv. Simplification of procedure for SACFA (Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations) clearance.
v. Launch of PM GatiShakti Sanchar portal and RoW (Right of Way) Rules to streamline RoW permissions and clearance of installation of telecom infrastructure.
vi. Time-bound permission for use of street furniture for installation of small cells and telecommunication line.
