Airtel, Reliance Jio scale back 5G expansion amid lower network investment

The expansion of 5G base stations in India has significantly slowed in recent quarters, highlighting the reduced capital expenditure on network infrastructure by the country’s leading telecom operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, according to a report by The Economic Times.

According to an analysis by ICICI Securities, the number of new 5G sites added per quarter has fallen sharply to around 8,000-9,000 in Q2 and Q3 of FY25, compared to approximately 111,000 additions per quarter in Q2FY24, the news report said citing data from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).