India recently saw the number of 5G users within the country reach 400 million. This figure would put India as one of the second highest users of 5G, behind China. This feat becomes even more impressive when one considers that the first Indian 5G services launched in late 2022.
In a social media post, India’s Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, asserted the country was “setting new global benchmarks in scale, speed and digital transformation” as he revealed the milestone.
The minister cited figures which put its subscriber numbers ahead of other major markets including the US (350 million), the combined European Union (200 million) and Japan (190 million). China leads the way with well over a billion connections.
Operators in India launched commercial 5G services in parts of the country in October 2022, before expanding.
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio were the first to launch 5G and claimed to have notched-up 50 million users each within the first year of operation. Rival Vodafone Idea hit the button on its first cities during 2025.
Statistics from the country’s government pin the number of 5G base stations across the nation at 518,854 as of the end of 2025. This was up from around 464,990 at the turn of that year.
Source: Mobile World Live
Image Credit: Stock Image
