5G services rolled out across all States and UTs; 4.86 lakh 5G BTSs installed nationwide: Govt

new delhi: fifth-generation (5g) mobile services have been rolled out across all states and union territories, with coverage currently reaching 99.8 per cent of the country's districts, the government informed the rajya sabha.as of june 30, 2025, telecom service providers (tsps) have installed 4.86 lakh 5g base transceiver stations (btss) across the country, minister of state for communications and rural development dr. pemmasani chandra sekhar said in a written reply.tsps have exceeded the minimum rollout obligations outlined in the notice inviting application (nia) for the 5g spectrum auction, the minister noted. expansion beyond these obligations, he added, is driven by the techno-commercial considerations of individual service providers.to promote the proliferation of 5g services, the government has undertaken several policy and regulatory initiatives. these include spectrum auctions, financial reforms such as rationalisation of adjusted gross revenue (agr), bank guarantees and interest rates, removal of spectrum usage charges for bands auctioned from 2022 onwards, and simplification of clearance procedures by the standing advisory committee on radio frequency allocations (sacfa).further, initiatives such as the pm gatishakti sanchar portal and revised right of way (row) rules have streamlined approvals for telecom infrastructure. time-bound permissions have also been introduced for the use of street furniture to install small cells and telecommunication lines.to boost innovation, a total of 100 5g use case labs have been established at higher educational institutions nationwide. the government has also partnered with global technology firms like ericsson and qualcomm for capacity building and development of 5g use cases.