India Targets 1 Billion 5G Users by 2030, Nearly Double the Current 550 Million
The government targets one billion 5G users by 2030, while a 6G terahertz testbed in Kolkata is approved and the Bharat 6G Alliance had 90 members as of 15 July 2026.
India's Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, set a target of one billion 5G users by 2030 when the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 opened. The goal would nearly double the base of 550 million 5G users that the minister cited, and the event's programme covered 6G, direct-to-device satellite services and AI-powered networks.
The targets sit alongside testbed and research work, and the Bharat 6G Alliance, whose members include telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, startups and research institutions. This article sets out the figures, the programmes behind them, and what they mean for operators, device makers, startups and ordinary users.
The 5G Base and the 2030 Target
The minister put India's 5G users at 550 million and set the 2030 goal at one billion. Both IBEF and TelecomLead report the 550 million base. Reaching the goal would mean adding 450 million users, a rise of about 82%. Scindia described India's 5G as the fastest-adopted 5G technology in the world, and both figures were announced at the inauguration.
He also framed the next phase in terms of standing. India had been behind the world on 4G, he said, had moved in step with it on 5G, and now intends to lead on 6G. The minister also put India's mobile customers at 1.35 billion.
The Congress brings together more than 600 partners and exhibitors across more than 120 sessions. A PNI report gives the expected attendance as more than 150,000 people from over 100 countries.
Growth Since 2014 Behind the Targets
IBEF and Communications Today both put the cost of mobile data at ₹8 per GB now, against ₹268 per GB in 2014. IBEF also gives the value of India's mobile phone industry as ₹5.99 lakh crore, up from between ₹12,228 crore and ₹18,342 crore in 2014.
IBEF's figures show broadband customers up from 60 million in 2017 to more than 1.1 billion. On the international stage, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council accepted India's proposal to host the 2030 Plenipotentiary Conference, IBEF reports. India also hosted the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly in 2024.
What the Target Means for Operators and Device Makers
For operators, the 5G goal means adding 450 million users by 2030. TelecomLead names Bharti Airtel among the operators in its coverage of the event. The event also discussed intent-driven networks, in which an operator sets the outcome it wants and the network works towards it. On AI, Bharti Airtel's Ajay Jain, Executive Vice President of Networks, highlighted automating routine tasks, optimising network performance and identifying where capacity needs to increase. TelecomLead adds that greater network autonomy would be needed to deliver these services at scale.
Speakers named in a PNI report include Magnus Ewerbring, chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific at Ericsson, and John Vincent Giusti, chief regulatory officer at GSMA. S.P. Kochhar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), is also quoted.
Qualcomm's Vinosh Babu James, Director, Technical Standards, said in a PNI report that satellite connectivity has already reached premium phones in some markets, and that it has to trickle down to mid-tier and lower-priced segments to become affordable in India.
Startups and the Bharat 6G Alliance
DD News reports that the Bharat 6G Alliance had 90 members as of 15 July 2026. They include telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, startups, research institutions and academic bodies. The alliance has seven working groups, covering 6G technologies, spectrum, applications and use cases, devices and components, revenue models, sustainability and outreach.
Scindia said the alliance has established 7,700 patents, of which 4,400 are international, according to IBEF and Communications Today. A PNI report puts the number of startups at the event at more than 500, and lists more than 900 thought leaders and more than 2,000 technology use cases.
TelecomLead says the third International Bharat 6G Symposium had testbeds and the deep-tech startup ecosystem as its focus areas.
Reaching the goal would mean adding 450 million users, a rise of about 82%.
The 6G Testbeds and Programmes
The named testbed is a 6G terahertz testbed at the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) in Kolkata. DD News reports that it is a three-year project approved under the Telecom Technology Development Fund, carried out with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Madras, Guwahati and Patna. The same report says a high-data-rate, line-of-sight link was demonstrated during the India Mobile Congress 2025.
On policy, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has released a national Spectrum Roadmap for 6G services, DD News reports. Separately, one of the alliance's working groups on spectrum has submitted a report titled Spectrum Roadmap for 6G in India. India has also advocated ubiquitous connectivity as one of six key 6G usage scenarios under the ITU's IMT-2030 framework.
Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani shared the information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2026.
Satellite Links to Phones and What Users Can Expect
Direct-to-device satellite connectivity, which lets a phone connect to a satellite, is one of the Congress topics. Reports from the event name device affordability, spectrum arrangements and protection of terrestrial networks from interference as conditions for wider adoption. Device availability, affordability and digital literacy were also identified as barriers, and clearer use cases beyond emergency messaging were called for.
A PNI report notes that emergency text messages are already covered by terrestrial networks, meaning ground-based mobile towers. For ordinary users, three points stand out. Mobile data is cheaper than in 2014, satellite features on phones have so far reached premium models in some markets, and the 5G target, if met, would bring 450 million more users onto the network.
The event announcement describes no commercial 6G launch or deployment timetable. Until one is, the 6G material above describes research and standards work rather than a service that users can buy.
