Indian Telecom Sector

India's data centre capacity is expected to quintuple to 8GW over the next 5 years, driven by rising internet traffic, growing adoption of AI & stricter regulatory mandates around data localisation.

A parliamentary panel has asked BSNL to reach net profitability quickly, meet 4G-5G rollout targets, improve employee morale, and monetise assets more aggressively

As Arpu is a key yardstick of a telecom company's financial health, telcos must work on effective monetisation strategies

DoT uses AI-based system to detect scam-linked numbers; thousands flagged for verification, hundreds of agents blacklisted

Average 5G data consumption in India has peaked to 40 GB per user per month and its total subscriber base is expected to grow by 2.65 times to around 770 million in the next three years, telecom gear firm Nokia said on Thursday. The mix of data consumption across 4G, 5G etc has increased by compounded annual growth rate of 19.5 per cent over five years to 27.5 GB in 2024, Nokia's annual mobile broadband index (MBiT) report said. According to the report, there was a remarkable three-fold year-on-year surge in 5G data traffic across India in 2024. "Average 5G data consumption in India per user was recorded at 40 GB in December 2024. We expect the 5G user base to grow to around 770 million by 2028 from 290 million in 2024," Nokia India, Head of Technology and Solutions (Mobile Networks), Sandeep Saxena said during the report launch. According to the report, the continued rise of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is driving increased data usage, with FWA users now consuming over 12 times

Union Budget 2025: With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to present Budget 2025 on February 5, the telecom industry expects it to reduce internet and smartphone costs, with tax rationalisation

Digital ecosystem growth is facing the increasing risk of cyberattacks on consumers and enterprises alike

Airtel, with industry-leading ARPU and subscriber growth, may also see a 60 basis points (bps) growth in operating profit margin

Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson expects its next phase of growth in India will be driven by network densification due to the rising data consumption appetite of end users in the country, a senior company official has said. Ericsson's managing director for India and head of networks for market area South East Asia, Oceania and India, Nitin Bansal told PTI that there is significant potential for growth in fixed wireless access in India, and it will soon surpass the number of deployments in the US. "The next phase of growth is focused on meeting increasing traffic requirements, primarily through network densification to enhance network utilisation. Network densification will occur due to increased network utilisation," he said. Ericsson estimates that the data traffic in India will grow from 29 GB per smartphone user per month to 68 GB per smartphone user per month by 2029. "If the trend continues, then service providers will densify the network to enhance the experience of users,

Telecom operators in a meeting with Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed concerns over regulator Trai excluding messaging and calling apps like WhatsApp and Telegram in its recommendation on new licensing rules, sources aware of the development said. Operators also discussed issues concerning adjusted gross revenue payments, they added. The meeting was attended by Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal and BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi. "All telecom operators expressed concern over the exclusion of over-the-top apps by Trai in its recommendation on Service Authorisation. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel raised the issue of adjusted gross revenue," a source said. Telecom operators have been demanding for a long time to bring calling and messaging apps, called as OTTs, under the ambit of telecom licences as they provide calling and messaging services like any telecom operator. The Telec

Trai wants HSN codes updated to better identify products & trade

In the post-paid segment, tariff adjustments range from 10-20 per cent, with popular plans seeing increases of 10-13 per cent

The report says this figure could grow to more than 490 million subscribers (42 per cent penetration) by 2028. 5G user growth has surpassed expectations over the past few months

Telecom Bill 2023: Is allocation better than auction? Was 2023 the year work from home ended? Will IndiGo and SpiceJet stocks face turbulence? What is JN.1, the latest Covid-19 variant? Answers here

Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Wednesday said the new telecom bill brings clarity on a slew of important issues facing the sector, including the regulator's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users, and exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations. In a statement, the industry body said its executive council, at its recent meeting, praised the bill, and termed it a historic milestone and extremely progressive. The bill, BIF said, is consumer-centric and investor-friendly, and will propel the growth of the sector. BIF said the bill brings in clarity on a plethora of key issues, including Trai's power and functions, protection and duties of telecom users and clarity in definition of telecommunication services. There is also clarity on issues such as exclusion of OTTs from the purview of telecom regulations, administrative allocation of satellite spectrum and certain other types of spectrum, right of way issues, spurring of Universal Service and ...

In a key move, it has also allowed telcos to surrender spectrum if they are unutilized. However, the government will not return the amount already paid by the company, people in the know said.

The government is likely to table the Telecommunications Bill 2023 in Lok Sabha on Monday, according to sources. The Telecommunications Bill 2023 aims to replace the 138 years old Indian Telegraph Act that governs the telecom sector. "The President has been informed about the Telecommunications Bill 2023. It is likely to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Monday, December 18," a source told PTI. The Cabinet had cleared the bill in August. The draft Telecommunications Bill released in 2023 had proposed to bring over-the-top or the internet based calling and messaging apps under the definition of telecommunications to enhance users' safety. The bill had also proposed to curb the power of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), on which industry players had raised concern. According to government officials, the issues around over-the-top players and Trai were resolved before it was cleared by the Cabinet. The draft had proposed to ease some of the rules like refund of fees for

Rs 1,500 crore sits unutilised as only 20 of the 42 companies met their targets at the end of the financial year in March 2023

The ConsumerLab has more than 20 years' experience of studying people's behaviors and values, including the way they act and think about ICT products and services

TRAI has mooted 'concurrent PLI scheme' focussing on components and sub-assembly manufacturing to facilitate collaborated production activities, as it released an extensive set of recommendations to promote manufacturing of networking and telecom gear in India through tax benefit, dedicated master fund and other sweeteners. With a sharp gaze on goals of scaling domestic production and local value addition in global value chains, TRAI in its recommendations favoured additional two per cent benefit under the design-led PLI scheme for product lines meeting a certain criteria, while also talking of a dedicated 'Networking and Telecommunications Equipment Development' fund. In order to spur innovation and encourage industry's drive towards beneficially owned resident Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), lower corporate income tax has also been recommended. This would apply if the enterprise is continuously engaged in R&D driven manufacturing and attains half of its turnover based on ...