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Reliance Jio Has Widest 4G Network In India, Airtel’s Grows Over Three-Fold: TRAI

Reliance Jio’s 4G network almost doubled from 3.81 lakh stations in Sept 2017 to 7.46 lakh stations in June 2019, TRAI data shows.

Reliance Jio ads at Nehru Place in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg)
Reliance Jio ads at Nehru Place in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. has the widest 4G network in India while Bharti Airtel Ltd. has expanded its coverage three-fold since September 2017, data from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed. Vodafone Idea Ltd.'s 4G network has grown 62 percent, despite holding the highest amount of spectrum.

According to data in TRAI’s consultation paper on review of interconnection usage charges, Reliance Jio's 4G network almost doubled from 3.81 lakh 4G Base Transceiver Stations in September 2017 to 7.46 lakh BTS in June 2019. Airtel's 4G network more than tripled from 97,130 BTS to over 3.26 lakh BTS.

4G base stations now constitute around 60 percent of the total network, growing from 5.91 lakh to 12.55 lakh within two years. India’s 2G network has declined by 27 percent—from 6.61 lakh BTS to 4.79 lakh BTS—over the same time period. The 3G network too is down to 3.43 lakh BTS from 3.6 lakh BTS in September 2017.

On Thursday, Vodafone Idea shares rose 11.93 percent to Rs 5.44 apiece on the BSE while Airtel’s gained 0.58 percent to Rs 337.70. The benchmark Sensex shed 1.29 percent to end the day at 36,093.47 points.