India's Telecom Surge: 5G Rollout Reaches 85% Coverage

India's telecom sector ended 2025 on a strong footing, with the Department of Telecommunications recording major gains in digital connectivity, infrastructure expansion, and technology self-reliance, according to a year-end review released by the Ministry of Communications.

A key development during the year was the launch of the National Broadband Mission 2.0 in January, aiming to speed up digital inclusion by expanding high-speed broadband access to villages, schools, health centres, and other critical institutions, supporting the government's long-term vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

The review highlighted a sharp rise in internet and mobile usage, with total internet connections crossing the 100-crore mark, nearly four times higher than in 2014. Broadband subscriptions also touched close to 100 crore, while average monthly data consumption per wireless user jumped to 24 GB, placing India among the highest data-consuming nations globally.

Median mobile broadband speeds rose sharply, reaching over 130 Mbps by October 2025. The nationwide rollout of 5G stood out as one of the year's defining achievements, with services now available across all states and Union Territories, covering 99.9 percent of districts and reaching around 85 percent of the population.

Telecom operators have installed over 5.08 lakh 5G base stations, supported by a doubling of optical fibre cable length since 2019. Rural connectivity expanded rapidly, with rural telephone connections rising nearly 43 percent since 2014, almost twice the growth rate seen in urban areas.

Overall tele-density reached 86.65 percent by September. The year also marked a technological milestone, with India becoming the world's fifth country to develop an indigenous 4G technology stack, built by C-DOT, Tejas Networks, and TCS, and deployed by BSNL.

Progress was also recorded under the Bharat 6G Mission. On the citizen services front, platforms such as Sanchar Saathi gained wide adoption, logging 22 crore visits, while its mobile app saw over 1.5 crore downloads.

The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator helped prevent losses of about Rs 450 crore by flagging more than 70 lakh suspicious transactions. Manufacturing showed strong momentum, with the telecom PLI scheme generating cumulative sales of over Rs 96,000 crore and exports exceeding Rs 19,000 crore, reinforcing India's shift towards becoming a global digital and innovation hub.