By Pramod Goel
India’s rapid 5G rollout has captured global attention. With over 486,000 5G base transceiver stations (BTS) deployed by 2025, the country has achieved in three years what some markets took nearly a decade to accomplish. However, beyond speed tests, device upgrades, and expanding coverage, the real preparation for 5G has been happening underneath — in the deep, often invisible layers of digital infrastructure that ultimately determine how consistently and effectively the network performs.
Modern digital economies run not only on wireless signals but on fibre, backhaul, small cells, and indoor systems that ensure reliability at scale. As India enters its next phase of digital growth, strengthening these foundational elements becomes critical to unlocking the full promise of 5G.
Fibre: The Core of India’s 5G Readiness
No element is more fundamental to 5G than fibre. It provides the capacity, stability, and low-latency performance required to support cloud-driven services, enterprise digitalisation, IoT ecosystems, and future AI-centric applications. Fibre is also inherently energy-efficient, immune to electromagnetic interference, and capable of supporting both backhaul and fronthaul with minimal signal loss.
India has made visible progress in this direction. As of March 2025, telecom operators had laid 698,010 route kilometres of optical fibre cable (OFC) nationwide. Fibre rollouts have accelerated sharply since the introduction of 5G, driven by BharatNet Phase 3, new data-centre investments, and increased fibre penetration into rural and enterprise-heavy regions by private operators.
However, the gap in fibreisation remains a bottleneck: less than 40% of mobile towers in India are fibre-connected. Addressing this deficit is critical. This is where professional digital infrastructure providers — including neutral-host players like iBUS — can work with telcos and enterprises to accelerate fibre access not just between towers but deeper inside campuses, buildings, and large public venues where demand is highest.
Network Densification: Why Small Cells Matter
While macro towers deliver wide-area coverage, they cannot alone support the dense traffic and ultra-low latency requirements of next-generation use cases. For 5G to perform reliably in congested zones such as airports, metro corridors, business districts, stadiums, campuses, and dense residential pockets, India needs a manifold increase in small-cell deployment.
Small cells installed on rooftops, lamp posts, street furniture, or building facades help offload traffic and boost performance. Their role becomes even more important as IoT adoption accelerates and enterprises embrace automation, private networks, and edge computing.
Recognising this, regulatory bodies have taken important steps in recent years. The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) issued guidelines for small cells in 2022, while the Telecommunications (Right of Way) Rules 2024 introduced digital approvals and standardised charges for faster rollout. However, implementation has been slow, delaying the densification required for India’s 5G networks to operate at full capability.
For India to deliver true 5G speeds consistently, scaling small-cell deployment must become a national priority, supported by simplified local permissions, shared-infrastructure models, and faster on-ground execution.
Indoor Connectivity: The Most Crucial Layer Users Don’t See
A large majority of India’s digital interactions happen indoors: nearly 85% of data usage and 70% of voice traffic originate inside buildings. However, indoor environments are particularly challenging for 5G, especially in higher-frequency bands that struggle to penetrate concrete and glass structures effectively.
This makes solutions like In-Building Systems (IBS), Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), and Managed WiFi essential. These systems ensure that the high capacity and low latency of 5G extend seamlessly into offices, shopping centres, residential towers, hospitals, hotels, and transit hubs.
Here, the role of neutral-host providers such as iBUS becomes especially important. The neutral-host model allows multiple telecom operators to share the same indoor infrastructure, reducing duplication, lowering deployment costs, and ensuring consistent experiences for users across operators. It also makes indoor networks more scalable and energy-efficient — a key requirement as India’s built environment continues to expand rapidly.
Indoor digital infrastructure will be one of the biggest determinants of user experience in the 5G era, yet it remains one of the least visible parts of the ecosystem.
The Road Ahead: From Coverage to Experience
India has made remarkable progress in rolling out 5G, but the next phase is about deepening — not just broadening — the network. Fibre backbones need to reach more towers and enterprises, small cells must multiply across urban spaces, and indoor systems should become a standard part of building infrastructure.
Neutral-host digital infrastructure providers will play an increasingly strategic role in this evolution, enabling operators to achieve broader, faster, and more cost-efficient deployments while ensuring that users experience 5G in its full potential.
Ultimately, India’s 5G success will be judged not by the number of BTS sites deployed, but by the quality, consistency, and resilience of the digital experiences it enables. The invisible work of building that future started years ago — and the strength of this foundation will determine how connected, competitive, and inclusive India’s digital economy becomes in the years ahead.
About Author
Pramod Goel, Senior Vice President – Digital Infrastructure Partnership (Estate Management) at iBUS Network, has over 25 years of experience in telecom and digital infrastructure. He drives strategic partnerships with top developers, enabling network convergence and expanding iBUS’s footprint across India’s commercial and residential sectors. Beginning his career in 1989 in the Office Automation industry, Pramod introduced leading global digital products to India before transitioning to telecom with Airtel, RCOM, Ascend Telecom, and American Towers. At iBUS, he has been instrumental in scaling the company from 10 million to over 250 million sq. ft. of connected real estate, leading to Morgan Stanley’s investment. Passionate about innovation and people, he credits iBUS’s success to its talented teams and culture of empowerment. An avid traveler and lifelong learner, Pramod is dedicated to advancing India’s digital infrastructure and bridging the gap between connectivity, communities, and commerce.
About iBUS
iBUS is redefining India’s digital backbone by deploying neutral, carrier-agnostic connectivity solutions across IT parks, airports, hospitals, government institutions, malls, and residential complexes. With 1,500+ sites covering over 1.2 billion sq. ft. across 40+ cities, iBUS is pioneering 5G convergence, managed Wi-Fi, and IoT-enabled infrastructure that powers smart buildings and future-ready cities.
Backed by major investments from NIIF (USD 200 million) and the International Finance Corporation (INR 280 crore), iBUS is scaling rapidly in both domestic and international markets, strengthening its position as a key enabler of India’s digital transformation.
Leading this journey is Ramarathinam Sellaratnam, Group CEO & Managing Director of iBUS. With over two decades of experience across Infosys and Arthur D. Little, Ram is driving innovation, expansion, and India’s 5G readiness.
Disclaimer
The guest contribution purely reflects the opinions and views of the author. Techarc may or may not agree to these individual views.
