There are currently about 560,276 base transceiver stations (BTSs) deployed across the country. The number of base stations increased by 16.48 per cent, from 481,000 as of March 2010 to 560,276 in September 2010.

Category B circles have the maximum number of BTSs (213,992) followed by Category A (209,679), Category C (80,834) and metro circles (55,771). The highest growth in the past few years has been witnessed in the Category B and C circles.

Among the metros, Mumbai had the highest number of BTSs at 21,038, as of September 2010. BTS deployment in Mumbai increased by nearly 30 per cent from 16,194 in March 2010 to 21,038 in September 2010. Kolkata also recorded a substantial growth in the number of BTSs at 26.64 per cent between March and September 2010.

Among the Category A circles, Tamil Nadu along with Chennai had the maximum number of base stations followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The highest growth rate (23.45 per cent) was witnessed by Gujarat in the period between March and September 2010 with 6,051 tower additions. Among the remaining circles, base station deployment witnessed the highest growth of 21.19 per cent in Maharashtra in the six-month period April-September 2010.

Base station deployment in Category B circles witnessed the highest growth rate during April-September 2010. The total BTSs increased by 190 per cent, from 73,625 in March 2010 to 213,992 in September 2010. The Category B circles also accounted for the highest overall BTS deployment across all categories. 

In Category C circles, the number of BTSs increased from 71,801 as of March 2010 to 80,834 in September 2010, registering a growth of 12.58 per cent. The Northeast witnessed the highest growth of 27.05 per cent with the number of base stations increasing from 4,321 in March 2010 to 5,490 in September 2010.