BSNL is expected to launch 5G services in Delhi and other select cities by the end of September, as per senior officials.
The company has conducted 5G technology trials at several new 4G sites, which are part of a nationwide plan to deploy one lakh 4G towers.
BSNL Set to Launch 5G Services in Delhi and Select Cities by September-End
BSNL has already activated 5G services in major state capitals like Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Kolkata, Patna, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
These 5G activations have mostly taken place at newly installed 4G sites under the first phase of the 1 lakh site deployment.
An official stated, “A stepwise plan will be implemented to roll out 5G across telecom circles, after the first 1 lakh towers are found to be operating optimally and meeting quality-of-service requirements.”
BSNL’s 5G rollout approach will follow a pattern similar to its earlier circle-wise 4G rollout, which was completed in all four metro cities by December 2024.
As of May 2025, BSNL has installed over 93,000 4G towers, out of which more than 70,000 are operational.
A second phase is planned that will involve deploying another 1 lakh 4G towers.
BSNL’s 4G rollout faced multiple delays, especially in comparison to private telecom companies like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea.
Due to these delays, BSNL’s mobile services market share dropped to 7.82% as of May 2025.
Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had previously declared that BSNL would complete its 4G rollout by June 2025, with 5G upgrades possible within a month at each site.
BSNL Begins 5G Infrastructure Testing in Strong Market Circles
BSNL has already begun testing 5G infrastructure in telecom circles where it has a strong user base.
Officials stated that network infrastructure testing is ongoing in areas where BSNL maintains strong presence, even before the official 5G rollout begins.
One official said, “We are also rolling out base transceiver stations (BTS) in many cities across the country such as Kanpur, Pune, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, and Kollam.”
Apart from key metros, BSNL is expanding BTS infrastructure to several urban centers.
In Delhi, BSNL’s 5G rollout will use a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model, according to Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi.
BSNL has launched a free 4G SIM upgrade initiative in select regions, providing 4GB of data valid for three months to users migrating from 2G or 3G.
Earlier this month, BSNL launched its own 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) solution named Quantum 5G FWA in Hyderabad.
This FWA solution is set to be piloted in Bengaluru, Puducherry, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Gwalior, and Chandigarh by September 2025.
The Quantum 5G FWA marks BSNL’s formal entry into the fixed wireless access segment.
