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.