India's 5G rollout accelerated dramatically today as 50 new cities across 15 states were added to the 5G network. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have both switched on services, with average download speeds touching 300 Mbps – nearly 10 times faster than 4G.
🔹 The 50 new cities
The expansion covers major urban centres like Indore, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Guwahati, Ranchi, Raipur, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as 43 other cities. With this, 5G is now available in 348 cities across India. The Department of Telecom says 75% of urban India will have 5G coverage by June 2024.
Telecom Minister
"This is the fastest 5G rollout in the world. We have surpassed the UK and Germany in coverage. Our goal is to make 5G accessible to every Indian by 2025." – Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Speed and performance
Ookla Speedtest data shows average 5G download speeds of 305 Mbps on Jio and 295 Mbps on Airtel. Upload speeds average 35 Mbps. Latency has dropped to 10-15 ms, enabling real-time applications like cloud gaming and autonomous vehicle trials.
🔹 Operator strategies
Reliance Jio is using its indigenously developed 5G stack and has deployed Standalone (SA) architecture, which allows network slicing and low latency. Jio now covers 250 cities and plans to cover 1,000 towns by December.
Bharti Airtel is using Non-Standalone (NSA) initially but has started upgrading to SA in select cities. Airtel has partnered with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung for equipment and covers 210 cities.
Vodafone Idea update
Vodafone Idea (Vi) has started 5G trials in Pune and Gandhinagar but is yet to launch commercially. The company is in the final stages of raising ₹20,000 crore for network expansion and expects to launch by September 2024.
🔹 Use cases emerging
Beyond faster browsing, 5G is enabling:
- Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): Jio and Airtel are offering home broadband via 5G routers, competing with cable operators.
- Smart factories: Bosch and Siemens are piloting 5G-controlled manufacturing lines in Bengaluru and Pune.
- Education: IITs are using 5G for virtual labs and holographic lectures.
- Healthcare: Ambulances with 5G connectivity can transmit live patient data to hospitals.
Consumer response
In Lucknow, one of the newly covered cities, student Anjali Gupta said: "I downloaded a 2GB movie in 50 seconds. Online classes are now buffer-free even when family is streaming."
🔹 Challenges ahead
Despite rapid rollout, challenges remain: dense urban coverage requires more towers, and rural expansion will take time due to lower revenue potential. Additionally, only 40% of current smartphones are 5G-enabled, though this is expected to cross 70% by year-end.
Government initiatives
The DoT has launched a '5G Intelligent Village' programme to pilot applications in agriculture, health, and education in 100 villages. The ₹40,000 crore PLI scheme for telecom gear is also boosting domestic manufacturing of 5G equipment.
