India’s connectivity fabric is expanding amid higher everyday data usage and enterprise digitisation push, which is driving networks to add capacity and improve consistency. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reported that total wireless data usage rose 17.46 per cent in FY 2024-25, confirming sustained demand into 2025. Uniform, digital right of way (RoW) rules that took effect on January 1, 2025, are speeding fibre and small-cell permissions across states, while the launch of the National Broadband Mission 2.0 on January 17, 2025, also set the ball rolling in terms of encouraging last-mile connectivity. With 5G now available in 99.8 per cent of districts and 0.49 million 5G base transceiver stations installed by June 30, 2025, operators have a stronger baseline to extend coverage and stabilise busy-hour performance.

Fibre and RoW

Fibre remains the base layer for 5G radio sites, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), last-mile connectivity, and high-resilience backhaul. India’s optical fibre footprint reached 4.2 million route km (rkm). Under BharatNet, more than 0.2 million gram panchayats were service-ready and over 1.22 million FTTH connections were commissioned by March 2025. Additionally, the government reported nearly 0.7 million rkm of optical fibre cable (OFC) laid over the past three years, as of March 31, 2025.

The enforcement of RoW rules is streamlining permissions, as the rules reduce approval time through time-bound, online processing and uniform charges via the Gati Shakti Sanchar portal. Corridor builds are also progressing: OFC ducts are being deployed along national highways under the National Highways Authority of India’s Digital Highways programme, with targets and detailed project reports in hand, while RailTel operates nearly 63,000 rkm of fibre along rail tracks for nationwide backbone and backhaul reach.

Backhaul diversity

Where fibre is hard to pull or delayed, operators feed sites with microwave and high-frequency E-band links. TRAI’s consultation states that while OFC is technically the most desirable, laying fibre to base stations can be time-consuming or uneconomic, so providers prefer wireless backhaul where fibre deployment is difficult. As of March 2025, 46.09 per cent of base stations were fibrised, underscoring the continuing role of radio backhaul.

Further, remote and insular areas use satellite-supported backhaul to establish sites and restore service when terrestrial routes are unavailable. TRAI’s May 2025 recommendations for satellite-based commercial communication services enable deployments in underserved regions. Field sessions in July 2025 highlighted quick-deploy very small aperture terminal kits, speeding restoration in difficult terrain and emergencies. Government programmes like BharatNet also prioritise connectivity for remote areas where trenching is uneconomic.

Last-mile densification

Small cells on street furniture bring radios closer to users, reducing interference and stabilising speeds. Kerala’s July 2025 order sets a portal-based process to mount small cells/telecom lines on public property. Similarly, in-building solutions (IBS) are expanding at high-footfall venues. In April-May 2025, operators sought direct IBS deployment at major airports (Noida, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Navi Mumbai, and Mumbai), and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited signed a deal for 4G/5G-ready neutral-host coverage across Phases I and II corridors. These steps aim to improve indoor coverage and busy-hour consistency.

Radio and spectrum actions

Operators are adding practical ­capacity by layering carriers and using existing spectrum more efficiently. On the supply side, in January 2025, the union cabinet approved refarming 687 MHz of spectrum from other ministries for mobile services, creating headroom for wider 5G carriers. Across TRAI’s April-July 2025 Independent Drive Tests, 5G download speeds typically ranged between 130-275 Mbps for leading networks, indicating improved user experience.

Antennas

Operators are adding massive multiple-input multiple-output antenna-integrated radios on mid-band 5G for denser areas. These upgrades enhance spectrum efficiency, reduce energy consumption and optimise network performance, ensuring seamless 5G connectivity.

Similarly, venues are standardising in-building antenna systems. In February 2025, TRAI issued recommendations on distributed antenna systems to streamline design and deployment, supporting more consistent indoor 4G/5G services alongside neutral-host roll-outs

Outlook

By 2030, India is projected to reach nearly 980 million 5G subscriptions and about 62 GB per smartphone per month of mobile data use. This will drive continued small-cell/IBS deployments as well as radio upgrades beyond 2025. The near-term challenge is execution – not even 50 per cent of base stations were fibrised as of March 2025, and E/V-band backhaul assignment and pricing are still under consultation. A practical path is clear – lock in uniform municipal templates for street furniture use (Kerala’s July 2025 order is a model) and finalise E/V backhaul so operators can scale multi-gigabit links quickly. If this moves in tandem with steady right of way approvals, users will experience steadier busy-hour performance, not just bigger networks.