The telecom sector stands on considerably stronger ground than it did a decade ago, yet the distance between policy ambition and ground-level execution remains one of its most persistent challenges. With the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2025 under consideration, the industry is engaged in a consequential debate about how to monetise 5G infrastructure, extend meaningful connectivity beyond coverage statistics and ensure that the regulatory and fiscal framework governing the sector keeps pace with its evolving role as foundational digital infrastructure. In a conversation with Indian Infrastructure, sector leaders discussed the state of India’s telecom sector, critical priorities for the next policy cycle, the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite communications (satcom), and trends that will define the industry over the next two years. Edited excerpts…
How would you assess the current state of India’s telecom sector? What have been the most significant developments over the past year?
Lt. Gen. Dr S.P. Kochhar
India’s telecom sector today stands on considerably firmer ground than it did in the past decade. Post-Covid, telecom has become the foundational horizontal platform upon which every other sector of the economy is built. The past few years have been defined by 5G penetration. Telecom operators have scaled the nationwide roll-out, added network capacity and moved into genuinely new use cases such as fixed wireless access (FWA) and network slicing, alongside sustained policy engagement with the government on the sector’s evolving needs. The consumption of data tells the real story. An average wireless data usage per subscriber has more than doubled, from 12.13 GB per month in December 2020 to 25.7 GB in December 2025, with 5G now accounting for close to 40 per cent (39.68 per cent) of total wireless data traffic in the quarter ending December 2025.
Overall, the telecom sector is building on a strong foundation while still expanding that foundation. Sustaining this momentum will depend entirely on whether the policy and fiscal environment can keep pace with the industry’s ambition.
“The telecom sector is building on a strong foundation while still expanding that foundation.” Lt. Gen. Dr S.P. Kochhar
T.V. Ramachandran
India’s telecom sector presents an interesting paradox. It boasts of one of the world’s lowest mobile tariffs, yet these remain relatively high in relation to average per capita earning power, and are likely to rise further. Connected with this paradox, India is both one of the world’s greatest telecom success stories and one of its largest unfinished digital inclusion projects. It has over one billion broadband connections across approximately 700 million unique subscribers – barely half of India’s population – even as we claim 99 per cent 4G/5G coverage. The next phase of India’s digital journey must therefore move beyond coverage towards “meaningful connectivity”.
On the positive side, the past year has been exceptionally eventful. Per-subscriber data consumption crossed 26 GB per month; over 220,000 gram panchayats have been connected through optical fibre; and purchase orders have been placed to extend connectivity through BharatNet Phase III to all 640,000 villages. Equally significant has been the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) January 2026 delicensing of the lower 6 gigahertz (GHz) band for low-power indoor use, laying the foundation for widespread gigabit-class Wi-Fi 6E/7 deployment.
Satcom – a complementary pillar of India’s connectivity architecture – has moved slightly closer to the execution stage but still has some way to go. Airtel’s Eutelsat OneWeb, Starlink, Jio-Space Energy Technology and Amazon Leo are among the players itching to start the game.
The Telecommunications Services and Networks Authorisation Rules finally took effect this year. There are some structural issues: the treatment of cloud-based ePABX and cloud-hosted telecom networks, where potential jurisdictional overlaps with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology have been flagged; and the need for a clear, commonly understood trusted-vendor framework for PM-WANI equipment.
“At present, some of the most tangible returns from AI in telecom are operational rather than revenue-driven.” T.V. Ramachandran
Manoj Kumar Singh
India’s telecom sector is undergoing a major transformation, with over 1.08 billion broadband subscribers, 858,000 mobile towers, 3.28 million base transceiver stations and 4.25 million km of fibre cable networks deployed, reinforcing India’s position as the world’s second-largest telecommunications market.
A key catalyst has been modern policy reform. The Telecommunications Act, 2023, and Right of Way (RoW) Rules, 2024, have addressed long-standing deployment bottlenecks through measures such as intimation-based tower installations on private properties; the designation of state nodal officers under Section 14(4) of the said act across all 36 states/union territories; and mandatory digital-by-design implementation. Significant progress has also been made in digitalising RoW approvals, with 20 states migrating to the central e-services portal and 16 states aligning their state RoW portals with the DoT central e-services system through application programming interfaces (APIs).
The Ministry of Finance’s SASCI scheme for 2026-27 adds another important dimension, with a Rs 2 trillion state assistance package and Rs 40 billion earmarked primarily for RoW Rules 2024 implementation under DoT. By linking incentives to outcomes such as clearing application backlogs, accelerating BharatNet deployment and improving utility coordination, the scheme can help translate policy intent into measurable implementation.
Together, these regulatory reforms and rapid network expansion are moving India’s telecom sector from incremental growth towards a more efficient, digitally enabled and future-ready connectivity ecosystem. The next phase will require greater fiberisation, densification and infrastructure sharing to support growing data demand and emerging digital services.
“The future will be defined not simply by more towers and networks, but by smarter, shared, resilient and sustainable infrastructure.” Manoj Kumar Singh
With the NTP 2025 under consideration, what are the most critical priorities for the industry? Howare AI and satellite communications reshaping network operations, business models and India’s broader connectivity landscape?
Lt. Gen. Dr S.P. Kochhar
The NTP 2025 needs to cement telecom’s role as a national enabler, not just another vertical industry chasing short-term commercial gains. The key task would be to translate the telecom minister’s ambition for the sector to contribute 20 per cent to India’s GDP over the next decade into an actionable framework built on spectrum availability, levy rationalisation and regulatory certainty.
AI and satcom are the two forces reshaping this landscape most visibly. AI is already embedded into day-to-day network operations including fraud detection, cloud security and analytics, protecting millions of users from malicious calls and messages every day. Beyond that, telecom is becoming the foundational layer for India’s broader AI ambitions. The convergence of compute and connectivity is, in many ways, the new electricity of the digital age and AI-native networks will be a key differentiator as the industry moves towards 5G Advanced and 6G.
Satcom will remain an important complement to ground-based networks, especially for reaching remote areas where laying fibre cables is just not practical or affordable.
T.V. Ramachandran
Before fresh 2030 targets are adopted, India would benefit from a rigorous and evidence-based review of how far the objectives of the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 have been actually achieved. New ambitions become more credible only when accompanied by an honest assessment of earlier targets – what worked, what did not and why.
Public Wi-Fi is perhaps the clearest example of this and it needs to be seen what structural impediments prevented previous targets from being achieved. NDCP 2018 had envisaged 5 million public Wi-Fi hotspots by 2020 and 10 million by 2022, yet India has still not reached even half a million. Still, the draft policy had shockingly reduced the target to just 1 million by 2030. The broader lesson is that India’s next telecom policy should not simply be a collection of numerical targets. It should establish the architecture for meaningful, affordable, resilient, technology-neutral and inclusive digital connectivity.
At present, some of the most tangible returns from AI in telecom are operational rather than revenue-driven. Operators are increasingly using AI for network optimisation, predictive maintenance, churn prediction, customer-service automation and fraud detection, with significant reductions in network and customer-service operating costs being reported. The next stage will involve movement from AI-assisted networks towards increasingly autonomous networks. API monetisation, network slicing, AI-as-a-service and edge AI are being explored as new revenue opportunities, but operators remain relatively early in this journey, constrained by fragmented data, trust and sovereignty considerations, availability of specialised skills and uncertainty around viable monetisation models.
In satcom, the partnerships between telecom operators and satellite providers underline the complementary nature of these services, especially for rural and remote areas, enterprise connectivity, disaster recovery, maritime and aviation communications, internet of things and critical infrastructure.
Looking ahead, direct-to-device satellite services and integrated non-terrestrial networks under evolving 3rd Generation Partnership Project standards could further blur the distinction between terrestrial and satellite networks.
Manoj Kumar Singh
The next policy framework should focus on creating a level-playing field for infrastructure providers (IP-1s) and reducing the structural costs of network deployment. Priorities should include 24×7 priority electricity supply and production-linked incentives through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) for commercially unviable rural deployments. The evolving role of IP-1s in supporting shared infrastructure including towers, poles, fibre and other passive infrastructure will be critical to enabling greater network densification. Further enabling IP-1s to support emerging infrastructure requirements such as small cells and passive distributed antenna systems can accelerate the deployment of shared, high-capacity networks.
On the technology front, AI is transforming network operations through predictive maintenance, automated traffic management and intelligent resource optimisation, helping reduce downtime and operational costs. It is also enabling smarter management of distributed assets through real-time tracking, improved asset utilisation and the automation of associated workflows and transactions. This can enhance operational efficiency, improve visibility across geographically dispersed assets and reduce manual intervention. Satcom is similarly expanding the connectivity envelope, particularly in remote, underserved and disaster-prone areas, by enabling satellite backup and hybrid backhaul.
The convergence of AI, satellite connectivity and shared passive infrastructure can create more resilient, energy-efficient and intelligent networks. Multi-utility infrastructure, smart sensors and green-energy integration can further evolve telecom sites into resilient digital hubs, supporting India’s broader digital economy. This convergence is opening new possibilities for enterprise services, edge computing and flexible connectivity models, while improving resilience where terrestrial deployment is challenging.
What are the key challenges that continue to hinder sector growth? What needs to be done from a policy or regulatory standpoint?
Lt. Gen. Dr S.P. Kochhar
The single biggest challenge remains the cumulative regulatory and financial burden on operators. There is the license fee, 3 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), as well as a 5 per cent DBN contribution, which was designed when spectrum was still bundled into the licence itself. That rationale no longer holds, given that spectrum is assigned through transparent, market-based auctions at substantial upfront costs. COAI has consistently proposed reducing the license fee to 0.5 per cent, enough to cover administrative costs, freeing up capital for network expansion and rural connectivity.
In manufacturing, customs duty on telecom equipment has climbed to 20 per cent over the past five to six years. COAI has asked for this duty to be brought to zero and phased back up only as domestic manufacturing capacity matures. On spectrum, while identifying part of the 6 GHz band for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) is a welcome step, we feel that allocating the full band to mobile networks is essential as a vast majority of Indians rely entirely on mobile broadband for their daily internet access. Reserving this spectrum for IMT ensures better connectivity for everyday users while easily supporting advanced, high-tech use cases.
At the same time, we have consistently advocated for a fair-share contribution framework where large traffic generators (LTGs) contribute toward the infrastructure that enables their services. These entities generate massive data volumes and derive significant commercial value, while telecom service providers bear the entire capital and operational expenditure for the infrastructure. This is essential to establish a sustainable economic model that ensures high-quality connectivity for all.
As cities expand and subscriber numbers keep growing, operators will need to keep densifying networks and extending fibre and tower footprint just to stay ahead of demand, with last-mile connectivity remaining one of the toughest, most capital-intensive parts of that job.
T.V. Ramachandran
Rural broadband penetration (44 per cent) severely lags behind urban penetration (114 per cent). BharatNet Phase III can make an important contribution towards bridging this divide, provided implementation proceeds on a war footing and the fibre backbone is effectively converted into usable last-mile connectivity through the use of Wi-Fi.
Public Wi-Fi represents another missed opportunity. The NDCP targets of five million hotspots by 2020, 10 million by 2022 and subsequently 50 million under Bharat’s 6G Vision remain far from achievement. There is a need to address the underlying commercial, regulatory and implementation constraints that have inhibited scale.
Satcom is a striking example of a policy-enabled but implementation-delayed opportunity. While operators have obtained the necessary licenses/authorisations, commercial consumer satellite-broadband services await commencement, principally because of pending spectrum assignment and related regulatory and security permissions. With tech and market demand ready, implementation must now catch up with policy intent.
A more fundamental concern is the treatment of satcom under the new Telecom Rules as merely another means of delivering terrestrial services. Satellite is a distinct communications medium, with different engineering characteristics, economics, coverage, mobility and security considerations. BIF has therefore consistently advocated the recognition of satellite communications through a standalone Satellite Service Authorisation. A technologically neutral regulatory framework should avoid equating technology neutrality with regulatory uniformity.
The focus is also on security concerns arising from modern NGSO (non-geostationary satellite orbit) low Earth orbit (LEO)/medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellations, which are capable of dynamically routing traffic across satellites and multiple gateways spanning different legal jurisdictions. Clear requirements for lawful interception, traceability, gateway control and Indian security compliance are essential to address legitimate security concerns without delaying commercial roll-out.
Private 5G implementation also remains incomplete. Despite the policy decision permitting direct spectrum assignment to enterprises for captive non-public networks, the final rules have yet to provide sufficient operational clarity. Enterprises therefore remain dependent on telecom service providers whose principal focus is understandably on large-scale public-network deployment. This could constrain private 5G adoption across manufacturing, energy, utilities, ICT, logistics and retail.
Further, AGR-related litigation and multi-thousand-millions legacy liabilities continue to constrain sectoral investment. From a broader policy perspective, several gaps merit attention: further rationalisation of the Universal Service Obligation Fund and license fee levies; stronger incentives for domestic telecom-equipment and semiconductor research and development (R&D); and more targeted use of universal-service funds for rural connectivity, public Wi-Fi and satellite-broadband support in rural and remote areas.
Finally, while delicensing the lower 500 megahertz (MHz) in the 6 GHz band is a welcome step, releasing the remaining 160 MHz to complete a contiguous 660 MHz allocation would enable two full 320 MHz channels, unlocking the full multi-gigabit potential of Wi-Fi 6E/7.
Manoj Kumar Singh
Despite significant regulatory progress, implementation gaps continue to constrain growth. Property tax, change of land use, levies on telecom towers by local authorities, local land laws by local state bye-laws, along with coercive actions such as site sealing and power disconnections without the approval of designated state nodal officers appointed under Section 14(4) of the Telecom Act, 2023, remain concerns. Delays in onboarding state departments and PSUs onto central digital platforms also contribute to application backlogs and slow infrastructure deployment.
The sector’s green transition presents another challenge. While India targets net zero by 2070, variations in state-level power regulations, including Green Energy Open Access (GEOA) frameworks, and the absence of a consistent approach to renewable-energy procurement can create uncertainty and increase the complexity of adopting clean energy across telecom infrastructure. Addressing this will require greater regulatory clarity and clear, standardised operational guidelines at the discom level to ensure that the provisions of GEOA and other renewable-energy frameworks are implemented consistently on the ground.
The priority must now be to move from policy notification to consistent execution. Central, state and local authorities need to work within a coordinated regulatory framework, with clear accountability and enforcement mechanisms. Stronger alignment across the governance and power ecosystems will be essential to sustain India’s connectivity growth while advancing its sustainability objectives. Greater consistency, faster inter-departmental coordination and predictable charges will be equally important in creating an investment environment that encourages long-term infrastructure deployment.
What will be the key focus areas for the industry over the next two years? What are the key trends that will define the future of India’s telecom sector?
Lt. Gen. Dr S.P. Kochhar
If the past two years were about laying the foundation, the next two will be about building on it. The centre of gravity is shifting from 5G roll-out to monetisation through enterprise use cases and AI-native network operations. That is where operators will finally start seeing real return on investments. FWA will be a trend worth watching closely, emerging as the most credible way to deepen connectivity across Tier II and Tier III markets where fibre simply cannot move fast enough.
On the technology front, the Bharat 6G Vision, targeting 10 per cent of global 6G patents, reflects India’s determination to not be a late adopter, backed by national testbeds and active research programmes.
Alongside this, keeping networks secure through trusted equipment, strict testing and AI tools that catch problems early will stay a national priority, since network security today is about protecting the country’s data and digital independence. With these enablers in place, telecom can play a critical role in supporting India’s $10 trillion economy ambition and strengthening its position as a global hub for AI and next-generation digital infrastructure.
T.V. Ramachandran
Infrastructure investment will increasingly focus on data centres, internet exchange points, content delivery networks, fibre, Wi-Fi and satellite connectivity, supported by further liberalisation, technology-neutral and light-touch regulation.
Fibre-based fixed broadband penetration must scale sharply to handle rising data consumption, which mobile broadband alone would struggle to cover. The in-building propagation challenge associated with the higher mobile frequencies of 5G and 6G will make complementary fibre plus Wi-Fi architectures increasingly indispensable. Meanwhile, network slicing applications are increasingly catering to telemedicine, industrial automation, emergency communications, connected vehicles, smart grids, and other mission-critical services since they require strict guaranteed quality of service (QoS) levels that standard mobile networks cannot provide. Therefore, network slicing may not merely be desirable; it may be essential.
Concurrently, general consumers will demand better QoS and quality of experience (QoE). This raises a policy concern that if premium customers are systematically offered “fast lanes”, could that eventually create “slow lanes” for ordinary users. This matter could go directly to the heart of India’s important net neutrality framework. The future debate should not be “network slicing vs net neutrality”; but, importantly, be about how the two can responsibly co-exist.
AI will deepen network operations alongside edge computing and joint communication and sensing, turning networks into active physical sensing layers while processing data closer to end-users, alongside continued 6G R&D.
Managing the resultant complexity will itself become a sectoral priority. As demand for AI- and cloud-native, cybersecurity- and software-native expertise is rising, the skill gap created by the retirement of experienced network engineers will have to be closed as a priority.
Sustainability will present another formidable challenge. Operators face balancing ambitious carbon-reduction and renewable energy objectives against rising energy demands from AI, data centres and dense networks. Future telecom infrastructure must therefore become not only more intelligent but also significantly more energy-efficient.
As the sector transforms, policy modernisation must match technological pace without inadvertently stifling innovation.
Manoj Kumar Singh
Over the next two years, the industry’s focus will be on converting policy reforms into tangible outcomes on the ground. Faster and more predictable RoW approvals, resolution of RoW issues, wider adoption of Green Energy Open Access, smart metering and composite billing, and effective implementation of the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment framework will remain key priorities.
At the same time, the sector will increasingly be shaped by infrastructure sharing, artificial intelligence-enabled networks, satellite-terrestrial convergence, energy efficiency and the evolution of telecom sites into multi-utility digital infrastructure. The future will be defined not simply by more towers and networks, but by smarter, shared, resilient and sustainable infrastructure. Ensuring that regulatory reforms keep pace with these trends will be critical to making India’s digital connectivity ecosystem future-ready. The industry will also need to focus on improving energy efficiency, strengthening network resilience and enabling infrastructure that can support the next generation of enterprise and consumer applications. The objective should be to build an ecosystem where connectivity is not only ubiquitous, but is also affordable, reliable and adaptable.
