The Telecommunication Industry in India

Introduction

With 1.20 billion subscribers, India is presently the second-largest telecoms market in the
world and has had rapid expansion over the past 15 years. According to research created by the
GSM Association and Boston Consulting Group in partnership, India's mobile economy is
expanding quickly and will have a significant impact on the country's Gross Domestic Product.
India eclipsed the US in 2019 to overtake it as the second-largest market for app downloads.

Along with strong consumer demand, the Indian government's liberal and reformist policies
have been crucial to the sector's fast expansion. The government has created a fair and proactive
regulatory environment that has made it easier for telecom equipment to reach the market. The
sector is one of the fastest-growing and the top five employers in the nation because of the
relaxation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules.

The current indian Telecom Market is dominated by,

● Reliance jio
● Bharti Airtel
● VodafoneIdea (Vi)
● Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and,
● Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL)

Market Analysis and Current Trends of the Indian Telecom Industry

● Total broadband subscriptions reached 788.77 million as of April 2022, and there were
1.16 billion total subscribers. By 2026, 350 million 5G subscribers in India will exist,
making about 27% of all mobile subscriptions.
● India's overall cellular data use climbed by 16.54% quarterly to 32,397 PB in the first
quarter of FY22. The percentages of 3G and 4G data utilization in the third quarter of
 FY21 and the overall wireless data usage were, respectively, 1.78% and 97.74%. The
percentage of 2G data utilization during the same period was 0.48%.
● Availability of 5G in over 20 Indian cities by the end of 2022 supported by India’s
leading policy makers.
● The amount of FDI that entered the telecom sector between April 2000 and December
2022 was US$ 39.02 billion.

The Future of Telecommunications in India

According to a Microsoft research, India will become a major role in the virtual world by
2025 with 700 million internet users out of the 4.7 billion users worldwide. By 2025, the Internet
economy is projected to reach Rs 10 trillion (US$ 155 billion), contributing almost 5% to the
GDP of the nation. In the coming years, the Indian telecom sector is anticipated to develop
quickly because of the government's supportive regulatory policies and the launch of 5G
services.
In order to further projects like the Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine
communications, immediate high-definition video transfer, as well as its Smart Cities program,
the Government of India aims to sell out 5G spectrum in bands like 3,300 MHz and 3,400 MHz.
The Indian Cellular Association and a survey by Canaly states that the Indian mobile phone
and telecom industry anticipates that the Government of India's increase in the manufacturing of
battery chargers would lead to the establishment of 365 factories and the creation of 800,000
employment by 2025.
These trends have been recognised by the Indian Government and in the Union budget for the
financial year 2023-2024, the production-linked incentive (PLI) plan for telecom & networking
devices under the Department of Telecom was authorized by the Union Cabinet for Rs. 12,195
crore (US$ 1.65 billion).

References

Invest India
https://www.investindia.gov.in/sector/telecom#:~:text=Urban%20telephone%20connections
%20rose%20to,52.02%20crores%20in%20October%202022.
India Brand Equity Foundation
https://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications

Startup Talky
https://startuptalky.com/top-telecommunication-companies-india/

Indian Companies
https://indiancompanies.in/top-telecom-companies-in-india-market-share/

The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom?from=mdr

Communications Today
https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/latest-technology-trends-in-telecom-industry/

Modor Intelligence
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/india-telecom-market#:~:text=India
%20Telecom%20Market%20Analysis&text=As%20of%20April%202022%2C
%20teledensity,base%20stood%20at%201.16%20billion