The year 2025 was a turning point for India’s digital future, marking a transition from a legacy-dependent telecom market to a forward-looking global hub with modern legislative frameworks for telecom, data privacy and security, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital infrastructure. Notable policy developments driving this transition include the release of the draft National Telecom Policy, 2025 (NTP-25), the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025, the India AI Governance Guidelines and the National Frequency Allocation Plan, 2025 (NFAP-2025).

On the regulatory front, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) enabled a major shift in the country’s digital landscape by introducing a modernised authorisation regime and pioneering frameworks for spectrum management, ranging from 6G-ready high frequency bands to administrative assignments for satellite communications. Together, these policy and regulatory initiatives aimed to create a stable, transparent environment conducive to large-scale capital investment and rapid innovation.

A look at the key policy and regulatory moves that shaped the telecom sector
in 2026…

Key policy moves

Modernisation of legislative frameworks

Throughout 2025, the government implemented measures to modernise the country’s obsolete telecom regulatory framework. In January 2025, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) urged existing licence holders to prepare for the transition towards a new, time-bound authorisation regime. This move marked a departure from legacy licensing models, emphasising the need for periodic reviews and streamlined compliance. In March 2025, DoT announced that the new Telecommunications Act, 2023, would be fully enacted by mid-year, thereby providing a modernised framework for a high speed, data-driven economy.

Notification of DPDP Rules and other security measures

On the data privacy and security front, the government notified the Digital Personal
Data Protection [DPDP] Rules, 2025, marking the full operationalisation of the DPDP Act, 2023. The rules establish a comprehensive framework for protecting digital personal data, defining the obligations of entities handling such data (data fiduciaries) as well as the rights and duties of individuals (data principals). It is guided by seven core principles – consent and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, security safeguards, and accountability.

Further, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued the Cyber Security Audit Policy Guidelines (Version 1.0, July 2025) to bring uniformity, clarity and accountability to audits across government, critical infrastructure and private enterprises. The policy provides a blueprint for organisations to systematically measure, manage and enhance their cybersecurity posture. It covers a wide range of entities, including operators of critical infrastructure such as power, transport and healthcare, as well as financial institutions, information technology (IT) service providers, data centres, cloud platforms and government departments.

Release of the draft NTP-2025

The government released the draft NTP-2025, outlining a strategic vision to position the country as a global leader in telecom technology by 2030. The proposed goals under the policy include universal 4G coverage, 90 per cent population coverage with 5G, fixed broadband access in 100 million homes and the creation of 1 million new jobs in the telecom sector.

The policy, which was opened for public consultation, proposes a road map for infrastructure growth, deeper localisation of telecom manufacturing, large-scale skilling and reskilling of the workforce, and environmentally sustainable practices. Building upon the foundation laid by the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018, NTP-2025 aims to address the opportunities and challenges posed by advanced technologies, including 5G, 6G, AI, internet of things (IoT), satellite connectivity, quantum
communications and blockchain.

Launch of India AI governance guidelines

On the AI front, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the India AI Governance Guidelines, under the IndiaAI Mission, a comprehensive framework to ensure safe, inclusive and responsible AI adoption across sectors. The guidelines propose a robust governance framework to foster cutting-edge innovation, and safely develop and deploy AI for all while mitigating risks for individuals and society. The framework comprises four key components:

  • Seven guiding principles (sutras) for ethical and responsible AI
  • Key recommendations across six pillars of AI governance
  • An action plan for short-, medium- and long-term timelines
  • Practical guidelines for industry, developers and regulators to ensure transparent and accountable AI deployment

Focus on spectrum management

Spectrum management also remained a primary focus throughout 2025. To this end, DoT released the NFAP-2025, a key policy document that governs the management and allocation of radio frequency spectrum in India. The plan provides spectrum allocations for various radio communication services in the frequency range of 8.3 kHz to 3,000 GHz. It serves as an essential reference for spectrum managers, wireless operators and telecom equipment manufacturers.

Further, the union cabinet approved a plan to refarm 1,100 MHz of spectrum across various bands. This refarming was critical for clearing legacy bands and ensuring efficient utilisation of the country’s radio frequency assets.

DoT also issued draft rules to delicense the 5,925-6,425 MHz lower band of the
6 GHz spectrum. According to the draft, no prior authorisation or frequency assignment will be needed to set up, operate, or use wireless devices in this band, provided they function on a non-interference, non-protection, and shared basis within prescribed technical limits. The draft specifies operational restrictions for the use of wireless equipment in the 6 GHz band. The draft is expected to accelerate the deployment of low-power and very low-power wireless devices across the country, enhance Wi-Fi speeds and capacity in homes, and enable access to advanced wireless technologies from global tech companies such as Sony, Meta, Apple and Google.

Supporting infrastructure deployment

The government also took measures to incentivise infrastructure deployment. To accelerate 5G network expansion, the government relaxed electromagnetic field rules for 5G networks, allowing telecom operators to cover more areas with fewer base stations, thereby reducing costs and the carbon footprint. The revised rules increase the power density requirement for 5G base tower stations from 1 Watt to 5 Watts per square metre, allowing signals to travel longer distances. The new rules, which came into effect on February 1, 2025, are expected to help telecom operators save capex costs.

Further, the government launched the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 to connect the remaining 0.17 million villages across the country. The key objectives of the mission include:

  • Extending operational optical fibre cable connectivity with 95 per cent uptime to 0.27 million villages by 2030.
  • Providing broadband connectivity to 90 per cent of anchor institutions such as schools, primary health centres (PHCs), anganwadi centres and panchayat offices by 2030.
  • Improving fixed broadband download speeds from 63.55 Mbps (national average) in November 2024 to a minimum 100 Mbps by 2030.
  • Achieving 100 per cent mapping of fibre networks owned by PSUs by 2026 on the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan Platform (PMGS), and using the platform for planning additional BharatNet projects.
  • Reducing the right-of-way (RoW) application average disposal time from 60 days at present to 30 days by 2030.
  • Increasing the number of rural internet subscribers per 100 population from the current level of 45 to 60 by 2030.
  • Powering 30 per cent of mobile towers with sustainable energy by 2030.

Strengthening security norms for satcom services

On the satcom front, DoT rolled out a comprehensive set of security regulations for satcom service providers, aimed at ensuring lawful interception and safeguarding national data. The rules strictly prohibit linking user connections to terminals or facilities located outside India’s borders and ban the processing of user data overseas. Additionally, providers are required to localise at least 20 per cent of their ground infrastructure within a few years of beginning operations in the country.

Encouraging security testing and R&D

To make the security certification process more affordable for domestic manufacturers, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, DoT announced a sharp reduction of up to 95 per cent in the security test evaluation fees for telecom and information and communication technology (ICT) products. Effective August 1, 2025, this revised fee structure under the Communication Security Certification Scheme is aimed at significantly reducing the financial strain on telecom/ICT product manufacturers, including domestic players.

Meanwhile, government research and development institutes, such as the Centre for Development of Telematics and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, have been granted a full exemption from security test evaluation fees for product certification applications submitted until March 31, 2028, as part of a wider effort to encourage innovation in public sector research.

In addition, DoT has simplified the security testing and compliance process for highly specialised equipment and end-of-sale/end-of-life telecom products.

Mandatory SIM binding

To address the growing cases of digital frauds, DoT instructed major over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Signal, Arattai and others, to implement mandatory SIM binding. The move was undertaken to keep the app tied to the phone number active on that specific device. Further, DoT asked OTT platforms to put SIM binding in place within 90 days, failing which the companies will face penalties.

State government initiatives

Among states, the Delhi government officially adopted the RoW Rules, 2024, as outlined in the Telecommunications Act, 2023. As a result, the Delhi RoW policy for both underground and overground infrastructure, notified in 2023, was rendered
non-operational across the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Further, the Goa government appointed the Department of Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications (DITE&C) as the nodal authority for issuing all permissions and no-objection certificates related to telecom infrastructure
under the Telecommunications RoW Rules, 2024. To streamline the process, all other government departments were directed to carry out site surveys, prepare the necessary documentation and submit them to the DITE&C for clearance via the centre’s RoW eServices portal within the timelines specified under the rules.

Regulatory highlights

Throughout 2025, TRAI spearheaded several initiatives, including implementing the Telecommunications Act, 2023, building future-ready infrastructure, and driving the satellite and data economy.

To facilitate a smooth transition to the Telecommunications Act, 2023, TRAI released recommendations on the new authorisation regime. A key highlight of the proposed framework is the significant reduction in entry fees for various services, including a proposal to halve the authorisation fee for access services to lower entry barriers for new entrants. Furthermore, TRAI introduced specialised network authorisations for infrastructure providers, enabling a more modular and efficient approach to building national digital assets such as dark fibre and mobile towers.

TRAI also took steps to optimise spectrum for 5G and 6G services, rationalising prices for backhaul spectrum and setting up a mechanism to improve indoor connectivity. In this regard, it identified critical high frequency bands in the 37-43.5 GHz range for International Mobile Telecommunications, which are essential to delivering ultra-high speeds required by advanced 5G and future 6G services.

Further, a set of ground breaking recommendations was released for assigning microwave spectrum, including the 6 GHz, E and V bands. By rationalising backhaul spectrum prices, TRAI aimed to facilitate network densification and improve rural broadband coverage.

Recognising that over 80 per cent of mobile data is consumed indoors, the regulator released the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity manual, India’s first standardised framework to evaluate how effectively buildings are equipped to support high speed, reliable digital access. The manual aims to provide a standard reference for property managers to develop digital connectivity infrastructure. The draft rating manual outlines a methodology to assess the digital connectivity of properties and areas across parameters such as fibre readiness, mobile network availability, in-building solutions and Wi-Fi infrastructure and service performance.

TRAI also focused on rural and low-income connectivity and released the Telecommunication Tariff (71st Amendment) Order, 2025 (PR 46/2025), to revise the tariff framework for retail broadband connectivity provided to public data offices (PDOs) under the PM-WANI scheme. The amendment mandates that all retail fibre-to-the-home broadband plans up to 200 Mbps must be offered to PDOs at tariffs not more than twice the corresponding consumer broadband price. With this ceiling in place, the backhaul tariff for public Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to reduce significantly, making them up to 10 times more economical.

To enhance consumer safety and transparency, TRAI introduced two major initiatives to safeguard consumers and simplify their interaction with telecommunications resources. The first was notification of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025, to tackle
the rising menace of unsolicited calls
and SMSs. These regulations significantly tightened enforcement by requiring operators to act against unregistered spammers within five days, compared to the earlier 30-day window.

Second, TRAI mandated the exclusive use of the 140-series for promotional
telemarketing and the 160-series (or 1600-series) for essential service-related or transactional communications to help consumers distinguish between different types of calls, and ensure that critical alerts, such as one-time passwords or banking notifications, are not mistaken for fraudulent or promotional content.

Finally, TRAI took steps to ensure India remains globally competitive in new-age digital developments. To this end, it finalised a landmark framework for the administrative assignment of satellite spectrum, proposing a fee of 4 per cent of adjusted gross revenue. The framework includes strategic exemptions from additional urban charges for rural and remote areas, providing a five-year licensing window to attract global satellite players and promote digital inclusion.

Further, to support the massive data growth driven by 5G and IoT, TRAI recommended a framework to promote the data economy. This included streamlining the establishment of data centres and interconnect exchange points, and promoting a human-centric data empowerment and protection architecture for secure, consent-based data sharing. Additionally, TRAI established a regulatory framework for foreign SIM/eSIM cards for export-focused IoT devices, ensuring secure connectivity in international markets.

What lies ahead

Looking ahead, the emphasis is likely to shift from policy formulation to execution. The groundwork laid for 6 GHz delicensing, administrative satcom spectrum assignment and AI governance ensures that India is not merely responding to global trends. As the country advances towards 2030, it is actively shaping the standards for 6G, space-tech and secure data economies. The success of NBM 2.0 and the implementation of mandatory SIM binding further point to a future where connectivity is not only universal, but also trusted and secure.

Kuhu Singh