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India’s 5G landscape is set for a significant expansion in 2025, with Vodafone Idea and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) planning to launch their 5G services. As the third-largest telecom operator, Vodafone Idea aims to roll out 5G in 75 cities by March 2025 with support from Nokia and Ericsson. BSNL, having completed its 5G trials, is expected to launch in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, industry leaders Reliance Jio and Airtel continue to enhance their networks, setting the stage for fierce competition in India’s growing 5G ecosystem.
The third largest telecom operator in India, Vodafone, is planning to launch 5G services in 75 cities by March of this year, 2025. Will this be possible? And if it will, how? Nokia and Ericsson have been awarded contracts by the company to support this project. Through this, a competitive pricing strategy is expected. As a result, this will Make 5G affordable for Indian users.
BSNL has completed trials for its 5G radio access network (RAN) and core network using the 3.6GHz and 700MHz spectrum. The state-owned telecom provider is likely to launch its services by first half of 2025. Without a doubt, this will expand India's 5G ecosystem by a big margin.
India's 5G market is already with a strong presence from both Reliance Jio and Airtel. Reliance has a total of 148 million and 90 million subscribers for Airtel as of August 2024.
To maximize returns on their 5G investments, they will therefore need to focus heavily on expanding coverage where and when they should.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is also witnessing rapid growth from their end. Jio has already reported 2.8 million 5G FWA users and plans to add another 1.9 million broadband users by early 2025. With no doubt, these trends indicate a shift toward 5G-powered home and enterprise internet services.
In order to recover 5G - related capital expenditures, Telecom operators are much likely to increase tariffs. This is evident after industry experts analyzed and predicted that tariff hikes of 6% to 10% YOY in FY26, impacting consumer pricing.
India is also preparing for the launch of satellite communication (satcom) services in 2025. Companies like Eutelsat OneWeb, JioSpaceFiber and Elon Musk’s Starlink are making excellent progress in their efforts to push satcom-based broadband to Indian consumers.
With new entrants like Vodafone Idea and BSNL entering the 5G market, 2025 will be a defining year for India’s telecom industry.
