India, Jan. 15 -- As of December 31, 2024, the number of 5G BTS (Base Transceiver Stations) in India was 464,990, up from 412,214 on December 31, 2023. This represents an addition of 52,776 BTS in 2024. However, this increase is relatively low compared to the number of BTS installed in 2023. In FY25 and the years following, telecom operators have already indicated plans to reduce their capital expenditures for 5G rollout and focus more on monetising the existing networks.

Earlier, the telecom companies added between 15,000 and 20,000 sites each month in 2022 and 2023, and occasionally even more. The total number of 5G BTS sites was 4,60,592 as of the end of October 2024. This number was 3,08,466 at the same period in 2023. Therefore, the...