Manoj Kumar Singh, Director General, Digital Infrastructure Providers Association
As 2025 draws to a close, India can look back on a transformative year that fundamentally reshaped its digital landscape. This was not just another year of incremental progress; it was the year when digital infrastructure evolved from a supporting actor to the primary enabler of India’s growth story, touching every aspect of economic and social life.
Growth that speaks volumes
The infrastructure expansion in 2025 tells a compelling story of momentum and scale. The number of base transceiver stations (BTSs) increased from 2.9 million in 2024 to 3.1 million in 2025, with the addition of 0.22 million new stations. Meanwhile, over 32,000 new telecom towers came online, increasing the total from 814,000 to 846,000. Teledensity rose from 85.43 per cent to 86.16 per cent, gaining 0.73 percentage points. Optical fibre networks expanded from 4.19 million km to 4.23 million km, with 46,000 km of new fibre added across the country.
These numbers represent more than infrastructure; they represent millions of new connections, thousands of businesses brought online and countless citizens gaining access to digital services that were once beyond reach. The addition of over 0.22 million BTSs and 32,000 towers in a single year underscores the rapid pace at which India is building its digital backbone.
Buildings become smart by design
The most paradigm-shifting development of 2025 was the formal recognition that much of India’s digital experience takes place indoors. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) notified the “Manual for Assessment of Digital Connectivity under the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024”, introducing a formal mechanism to assess and rate buildings based on their digital readiness.
This was not merely a regulatory update; it was a philosophical shift. For the first time, seamless in-building connectivity became a measurable, assessable criterion in property development. Buildings across the country are now being designed with digital infrastructure as a core element, not an afterthought.
The Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Framework for Telecommunications Infrastructure in Building Development reinforced this vision, serving as a guiding reference for multiple ministries and bodies including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Standards, the Telecommunication Engineering Centre, the Ministry of Rural Development, the National Centre for Communication Security – Telecom, and the National Broadband Mission. The alignment of building standards across ministries signals a mature, coordinated approach to creating digitally ready spaces – whether homes, offices, or public infrastructure.
Policy ambition meets implementation
Building on the success of the National Telecom Policy, 2018, which laid the foundation for ubiquitous, resilient and affordable digital communications, DoT introduced a more ambitious draft National Telecom Policy in 2025. This future-oriented framework aims for universal and meaningful connectivity that positions India as a global telecommunications leader.
The proposed policy sets bold, measurable targets that reflect India’s determination to not only strengthen its domestic digital ecosystem but also establish itself as a global innovation hub. As this policy moves towards implementation in 2026, it represents a clear and confident strategy for the decade ahead.
Infrastructure sector gets regulatory clarity
The passive telecommunications infrastructure sector witnessed a watershed moment with the release of the Draft Migration Rules. After years of operating under a registration-driven framework without defined validity periods, the sector is poised to transition to a formal 20-year authorisation regime – a move that brings long-term regulatory certainty.
The introduction of the Authorisation for Telecommunication Network Rules further refined the regulatory architecture, defining two distinct additional categories: infrastructure provider authorisation and digital connectivity infrastructure provider authorisation. Each category comes with clearly articulated eligibility criteria, scope of operations and compliance conditions.
While industry stakeholders continue discussions around migration timelines and operational readiness, the direction is unmistakable: a more structured, accountable and sustainable infrastructure ecosystem that can support India’s next phase of digital growth.
Right of Way: From bottlenecks to breakthroughs
Ground-level implementation saw remarkable progress in 2025. A total of 25 states and union territories (UTs) fully notified and aligned their portals with the Right of Way (RoW) Rules, 2024 – from island territories like the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep to mountainous regions such as Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, from the north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya to central and western regions like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
An additional 10 states and UTs achieved partial alignment, leaving only West Bengal pending full implementation. This near-complete national adoption represents one of the most successful infrastructure policy implementations in recent memory.
Every state that streamlined its RoW framework removed friction from deployment, reduced infrastructure costs and accelerated the journey towards universal connectivity. What was once a major bottleneck has become a competitive advantage.
Energy reforms enable affordable connectivity
The Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marked a significant convergence of the power and telecom sectors. By recognising the telecom sector within cross-subsidy surcharge exemptions, the bill acknowledges electricity as a critical input for essential services, a move that directly helps contain operational costs and protects end consumers from higher service charges.
In addition, the Central Electricity Authority’s 5th Metering Regulations increased the adoption of smart metering across the country. Much like telecom towers underpin the digital ecosystem, smart meters form the backbone of a modern, data-driven electricity network. The draft regulations were welcomed by both consumers and the telecommunications industry for providing clarity as well as a clear pathway towards improved service delivery and cost optimisation.
These reforms reflect a maturing understanding that digital infrastructure requires enabling conditions across multiple sectors and policy coordination delivers multiplier effects.
Green energy access expands
The Green Energy Open Access (GEOA) framework saw significant expansion in 2025, with 28 states and UTs fully notifying the GEOA Rules, creating pathways for cleaner, more sustainable energy consumption. While eight states notified the rules, they have yet to enable load aggregation or low tension consumer eligibility. Formal representations have been submitted to the respective state electricity regulatory commissions to ensure uniform adoption.
For an infrastructure sector as energy intensive as telecommunications, access to green energy is not just environmentally responsible, it is economically strategic and increasingly essential for sustainable growth.
Preparing for 2026: From foundation to structure
As India prepares to enter 2026, the achievements of 2025 provide a robust foundation for the next phase of growth. Digital infrastructure has moved beyond being a standalone vertical to becoming an integrated enabler woven into urban planning, energy policy, building design and economic strategy.
The coming year will likely witness the implementation of several regulatory frameworks introduced in 2025, from the migration of passive infrastructure providers to the introduction of the new authorisation regime, the roll-out of smart metering regulations and the final adoption of the new National Telecom Policy.
More importantly, 2026 will be the year when the digitally ready buildings designed in 2025 begin coming online, when the 0.84 million towers and 3.1 million BTSs deliver truly seamless indoor-outdoor connectivity, and when India’s teledensity moves decisively towards 90 per cent and beyond.
The bigger picture
The true measure of 2025’s success will not be found in towers erected or fibre laid, but in the lived experience of India’s 1.4 billion citizens. It will be in the student attending online classes from a remote village, the entrepreneur running a digital business from a Tier 3 city, the senior citizen accessing telemedicine from home and the start-up innovating on 5G networks.
As India works towards its vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, the year 2025 will be remembered as the inflection point – when digital infrastructure was recognised not as a technical necessity but as the fundamental enabler of national transformation.
The numbers grew impressively. The networks expanded dramatically. But most importantly, the foundation for a digitally empowered nation – built on policy clarity, regulatory certainty, cross-sectoral synergy, and coordinated implementation – is now rock solid.
As we close 2025 and look towards 2026, one truth is undeniable: India’s digital future is not just being imagined or planned, it is being built, scaled and lived, one connection at a time.
