As of November, Reliance Jio had five times as many 5G base stations (BTS), also known as 5G radios, as Airtel, the telecom department reported to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
As of November 26, there were close to 21,000 5G BTS across the nation, with the majority located in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, according to a written response from Minister of State for Telecommunications Devusinh Chauhan. In any mobile network, a BTS is a fixed radio transceiver that is typically mounted atop mobile towers.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, the two telecom firms vying for 5G dominance, are currently adding close to 2,500 BTS per week as opposed to the initial government-mandated objective of at least 10,000 BTS, according to official data.
Currently, 5G is being introduced in India on two different technological platforms. In the Standalone (SA) mode, the network is built only on 5G, while in the Non-Standalone (NSA) mode, the 5G network is built as a top-up on an existing layer of the 4G radio network.
While Reliance Jio has launched its 5G network on the SA mode, Bharti Airtel has opted for NSA. As a result, industry experts have pointed out that Reliance Jio would need to instal more BTS than Bharti Airtel.
In order to increase its 5G coverage, Bharti Airtel is currently installing an average of two radio transceivers on each tower, but Reliance Jio is deploying up to six.
