India’s 5G journey is underway — but what exactly is 5G, how does it work, and where does India stand globally? This article breaks down the fundamentals of 5G technology, key performance benchmarks, spectrum bands used in India, and the current state of rollout and speed. Dive in to understand the impact and potential of 5G in India.
5G in India marks a big step forward in the country’s digital progress. It brings faster internet, less delay in data transfer (latency), and better overall connectivity. As India transitions to the next generation of mobile networks, it’s crucial to examine what 5G is, its key service requirements, the performance of 5G technology in India, and whether 5G in India is “true 5G”.
What is 5G?
5G stands for the fifth generation of mobile networks. It offers a significant improvement over 4G in how we connect to the internet. But it’s not just about faster speeds — 5G enables a new kind of network designed to connect virtually everyone and everything, including machines, objects, and devices.
The broader requirements and the framework for mobile communication technologies are set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the name of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) standards. Using IMT, 3GPP (an organization of telecom companies) translated IMT requirements into technical specifications in its various releases and called it 5G.
How does 5G work?
5G technology uses cell towers that transmit data through radio waves. These towers connect to the core network using fiber or high-speed wireless links. 5G technology works by modifying how data is encoded, significantly increasing the number of usable airwaves for carriers.
5G works using a mix of different radio frequency bands, each with different capabilities.
To make 5G work well, it uses advanced tech like:
- Massive MIMO – Multiple antennas at base stations to increase capacity.
- Beamforming – A technique to aim signals directly at devices for stronger connections.
- Small Cells – Mini base stations placed close together in cities to maintain strong coverage.
Key Performance Requirements of 5G
Based on the ITU IMT standard, 3GPP developed 5G (NR) technology, which ITU accepted to meet the IMT standard. The standard requirements of 5G are thus interchangeably used with the IMT standard.
The 5G network supports various applications, including vehicular communication, IoT, industry automation, and mobile networks. However, in this article, we will focus on the requirements of mobile networks.
Super-Fast Speeds
One of the key improvements in 5G technology is the data rates. In short, data rates are the speeds at which you can download (downlink speed) and upload (uplink speed) data. The data rates are defined in two terms:
- Peak data rates (Ideal Condition)
- Downlink: Up to 20 Gbps
- Uplink: Up to 10 Gbps
- User-experienced data rates (Realistic Dense Urban Conditions)
- Downlink: minimum 100 Mbps
- Uplink: minimum 50 Mbps
Low Latency
Latency is the delay between sending and receiving data. The minimum requirement for latency is 4 ms for mobile networks, assuming unloaded conditions (i.e., a single user) for small packets (e.g., 0-byte data and IP header), for both downlink and uplink.
Energy Efficiency
Network energy efficiency is the capability to minimize the radio access network energy consumption in relation to the traffic capacity provided. Device energy efficiency is the capability to minimize the power consumed by the device modem in relation to the traffic characteristics.
The network technology shall have the capability to support long sleep durations.
Mobility
Mobility is the maximum mobile station speed (in km/h) at which a defined Quality of Service (QoS) can be achieved. This requirement is defined for evaluation in the Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) usage scenario.
5G network in India
5G in India started with its standard called 5Gi by the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI). The standard was uniquely developed to incorporate the geography and the goal of making 5G more inclusive, especially for rural and remote regions.
The Standard 5G (3GPP) design worked best in urban, high-density environments. However, 5Gi introduced the “Low Mobility Large Cell” (LMLC) model, which helps maintain connectivity across longer distances without needing dense base station deployment.
India officially launched 5G on October 1, 2022, during the India Mobile Congress. The three main telecom players, which are Jio, Airtel, and Vi, began rolling it out in phases. Compared to 4G, the pace of deployment is mind-blowing.
While the idea was suited for a fast and cost-effective way for 5G coverage in India, 5Gi faced interoperability issues with global 5G. Finally, industry pushback (from vendors and operators) led to its merger with 3GPP.
5G Bands in India
Based on the bands on which 5G can be operated (defined by the standard), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) conducts auctions for the spectrum.
Performance of 5G Technology in India
Although it is difficult to measure all the key requirements of a mobile network, speed and latency are relatively easy to measure.
Technology
There are two types of 5G being rolled out:
- Standalone (SA) 5G: Everything, from the network core to the radio, is built for 5G, allowing it to achieve its full performance.
- Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G: Uses 5G antennas but still depends on 4G core in the background. Here, 5G does not achieve its full potential.
Indian brands are using SA and NSA. Jio skipped the NSA phase and committed directly and completely to the SA 5G network. However, Airtel and Vi chose to move in a phased manner, keeping NSA as the first step. Airtel has said it will roll out SA, while Vi has just started rolling out NSA 5G services.
Download and upload speed
As per the standard, a minimum downlink speed of 100 Mbps and an uplink speed of 50 Mbps are required. However, as per Ookla’s India Speed Test Connectivity Report – H2 2024, only 7 Indian cities recorded a median speed over 100 Mbps. The Indian 5G network provided only 75.75 Mbps in Mumbai. Similarly, the upload speed was sub-par for all cities, with the maximum median upload speed being 13.63 Mbps in Jaipur.
What is concerning is that the financial capital of India has a speed that does not meet the requirements of the 5G standard, then how would the rural areas fare in this test?
The data can also be validated through the Mobile Network Experience Report (June 2025) by Open Signal. The regional analysis of the report shows many states where the download speed experience is below the 100 Mbps mark.
Mobility
Although 5G supports seamless connectivity up to 500km/h in specifications, many users report that Indian 5G networks fail to maintain speed and consistency while traveling. For instance, it is common to observe 5G to 4G fallback during movement, leading to slower speeds. Users complain that on-train performance is worse than stable 4G, likely due to coverage gaps and handover issues, not limitations of the technology itself.
Where does Indian 5G network stand?
Having seen the requirements and the performance of the 5G network in India, where do we stand?
Affordable Data Plans
India offers some of the cheapest 5G rates in the world, helping more people get access. It makes high-speed internet accessible to students, small businesses, and rural users.
Rapid Rollout
In just 2–3 years, India has set up over 470,000 5G base stations — a fast rollout compared to many countries. It’s rare to see this speed of execution in a country this size.
However, that’s not all. There are some concerns as well.
5G Spectrum Usage in India
Out of the three frequency bands:
- 700 MHz (Low Band): Around 16% of 5G connections use this band.
- 3.5 GHz (Mid Band): This is the most used band in India for 5G, offering a balance between speed and coverage.
- 26 GHz (High Band/mmWave): Still in early stages, mostly used in trials and some specific applications.
True 5G aims to provide the fastest speed with wide coverage. Hence, a mix of all 3 bands should be used.
Network Infrastructure
Indian telecom providers and TRAI are pushing the infrastructure towards true 5G technology. Some of the key data points are:
- India has around 8 lakh mobile towers (as of mid-2024).
- Out of about 29 lakh total Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), over 4.5 lakh are 5G BTSs, which means 5G is rapidly catching up with older networks.
- Fiber penetration, a key factor in true 5G performance, stood at only 38.44% (approx.), according to DIPA data as of October 2023.
Conclusion
Is 5G in India “True 5G”? Yes — but only partially. Some of the service providers are using NSA 5G instead of the true 5G, i.e., SA. However, even the SA 5G of India fails to meet the speed and latency requirements of the standard 5G.
It goes without saying that the speed improvement over 4G provided by Indian telecom service providers is magnificent but the question here is whether the service meets the standard requirements. The speed, latency, and mobility performance fall short of the 5G standard due to inadequate infrastructure and incomplete network coverage. The implementation quality in India is clearly lacking on many fronts.
The telecom infrastructure needs improvement and money to reach a level comparable to countries like South Korea or the UAE in terms of speed or latency. However, India may not have the fastest speed yet, but we have unbeatable affordability and rollout scale. That’s a strong long-term advantage.
With providers moving towards more SA networks, improved infrastructure, and better spectrum use, India is on track to become a major global 5G player in the coming years.
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