One fourth of India’s population now covered by 5G: Report

Jio has taken the lead with 5G presence in 184 cities, making it available to 94.6% of the population that has 5G coverage

More than 25% of India’s population is being covered by 5G as of January 25, reported the research firm Techarc. As per the report, this 25.2% of the population lives across 189 locations within the country.

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The research firm has created the ‘India 5G dashboard’ to monitor the progress of 5G coverage. The 5G dashboard will be updated on a weekly basis, said Techarc.

According to the data available till January 25, Jio has taken the lead with 5G presence in 184 cities, making it available to 94.6% of the population of India that already has 5G coverage. Airtel is live in 52 cities, covering 44.8% of the population with 5G networks.

Based on the dashboard data, 25.2% of India’s population is covered with live 5G networks, making the technology available to 1 in every 4 cities of the country. This translates to an estimated 41% of the smartphone users living in the country who could become 5G users upon upgrading to the network.

“Gujarat leads with 5G coverage in 34 cities followed by Karnataka with 19 cities and Andhra Pradesh with 16 cities covered. In terms of population coverage, Delhi and Chandigarh lead with 100% population covered under 5G networks, while Meghalaya has just 5% of the population covered under 5G networks,” the report said.

The Techarc 5G dashboard highlights that Jio is live in 24 States/Union Territories while Airtel has 5G networks live in 23 States/Union Territories. There are 18 States/Union Territories where both the operators are live with 5G networks.