Telecommunications in India
India's telecommunication network is the second largest in the world by number of telephone users[3] (both fixed and mobile phones) with over 1.19 billion subscribers as of September 2024.
The access network, which connects the subscriber to the core, is highly diversified with different copper-pair, optical fiber and wireless technologies.
India possesses a diversified communications system, which links all parts of the country by telephone, Internet, radio, television and satellite.
[6][7] Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and has played a significant role in narrowing down the rural-urban digital divide to an extent.
The service providers' primary goal is to build a loyal customer base by measuring their performance and maintaining existing consumers in order to profit from their loyalty.
These connected Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north; Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then Madras) in the south; Ooty and Bangalore.
[16] On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
He invited Sam Pitroda, a US-based Non-resident Indian (NRI) and a former Rockwell International executive to set up a Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) which manufactured electronic telephone exchanges in India for the first time.
The Rao run government instead liberalised the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and assuring foreign involvement in the long-distance business after 5 years.
[29][30] The primary objective of TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework.
Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford a cell phone.
[32] Many private operators, such as Reliance Communications, Jio, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market.
In March 2008, the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous year.
Most companies were formed by a recent revolution and restructuring launched within a decade, directed by Ministry of Communications and IT, Department of Telecommunications and Minister of Finance.
[62] With a subscriber base of more than 1151.8 million (31 Oct 2020),[2] the mobile telecommunications system in India is the second-largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s.
Now Internet access in India is provided by both public and private companies using a variety of technologies and media including dial-up (PSTN), xDSL, coaxial cable, Ethernet, FTTH, ISDN, HSDPA (3G), 4G, WiFi, WiMAX, etc.
[71] One of the major issues facing the Internet segment in India is the lower average bandwidth of broadband connections compared to that of developed countries.
[79] In March 2015, the TRAI released a formal consultation paper on Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services, seeking comments from the public.
[87] The policy reforms of the government in the 1990s attracted private initiatives in this sector, and since then, satellite television has increasingly shaped popular culture and Indian society.
Private companies reach the public using satellite channels; both cable television as well as DTH has obtained a wide subscriber base in India.
[8] There are no regulations to control the ownership of satellite dish antennas and also for operating cable television systems in India, which in turn has helped for an impressive growth in the viewership.
In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they offered compared to Doordarshan.
Historically, the role of telecommunication has evolved from that of plain information exchange to a multi-service field, with Value Added Services (VAS) integrated with various discrete networks like PSTN, PLMN, Internet Backbone etc.
It supports generalised mobility which will allow the consistent and ubiquitous provision of services to users.Access network: The user can connect to the IP-core of NGN in various ways, most of which use the standard Internet Protocol (IP).
User terminals such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computers can register directly on NGN-core, even when they are roaming in another network or country.
[92] The hyper-competition in the telecom market, which was effectively caused by the introduction of Universal Access Service (UAS) licence in 2003 became much tougher after 3G and 4G competitive auction.
About 670,000 route-kilometres (420,000 mi) of optical fibre has been laid in India by the major operators, including in the financially nonviable rural areas and the process continues.
The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
The Union Council of Ministers was misinformed in November 2005 that several service providers were interested in using satellite capacity, while the Devas deal was already signed.
ISRO committed to spending ₹7.66 billion (US$89 million) of public money on building, launching, and operating two satellites that were leased out for Devas.
