Digital infrastructure is emerging as a critical element for driving artificial intelligence (AI)-led progress in rural India. During the session on “Digital Infrastructure First: How Passive and Active Infrastructure are Bridging AI Potential and Rural Progress” at the India Mobile Congress 2025, industry leaders discussed the emerging growth drivers in rural areas, trends shaping the growth of digital infrastructure and strategies to connect the last mile…
Magnus Ewerbring
AI is rapidly becoming an inseparable part of everyday life, and its impact will continue to expand across all sections of society. It holds immense potential to assist people across different educational and economic backgrounds. While AI applications continue to diversify, they depend on high-performance compute platforms located on the network side. Given that smartphone penetration far exceeds that of computers, ensuring robust mobile networks is critical for the seamless delivery of AI-based applications.
Ericsson is focused on strengthening its networks to manage AI workloads with high efficiency. A major challenge is the shift towards uplink-heavy data flows, as more information moves from devices to the network. To address this, Ericsson has rolled out several programmes aimed at building stronger and more responsive networks capable of handling future data demands.
With the advent of 6G, the next phase of telecommunications will be built as AI-native from the outset. Ericsson is deeply integrating AI within its own systems to optimise data flow, enhance performance, improve spectral efficiency and make network operations more autonomous and cost-effective.
On the policy front, spectrum availability and pricing are central issues. In several markets, including India, operators consider spectrum pricing to be high. Revisiting pricing models and exploring differentiated licensing models for rural areas could make connectivity more viable.
For operators, the key is to ensure strong network performance even in sparse and challenging environments. Ericsson has already implemented commercial sites achieving cell ranges of up to 200 km under favourable geographical conditions, demonstrating how advanced radio technology and intelligent planning can extend connectivity to remote areas.
The evolving device ecosystem is also playing a pivotal role. Smartphones priced between $90 and $110 grew by nearly 600 per cent year on year during the second quarter of 2025, while the premium segment has seen a decline.
Progress in connectivity will rely on coordinated action. Governments must ensure that low-frequency spectrum is affordable, roll-outs are streamlined and private investment is incentivised. Once rural regions are adequately covered, the focus should shift to enabling schools, healthcare centres and public institutions to actively use digital networks.
Ashwani Khillan
Over the past decade, India has achieved remarkable progress in building its digital infrastructure. Today, the country has more than 800,000 telecom towers, a milestone made possible through progressive government policies and significant private sector investment.
Earlier, telecom towers and mobile phones were primarily used for voice communication. Today, voice has become one of the less-used functions, as mobile devices now support a wide range of applications and services. Average data consumption per user has risen from around 10 GB per month five or six years ago to approximately 30 GB today. With the rapid expansion of AI applications and rural connectivity, this usage could easily grow three to four times in the coming years.
As with any infrastructure, the more we build, the greater the demand becomes. To strengthen rural connectivity, targeted incentives, such as goods and services tax (GST) benefits for rural digital infrastructure, could encourage more participation. Another long-pending request from the industry is granting infrastructure status to the digital infrastructure sector, on par with transport and power.
As the industry expands into rural areas, power availability becomes increasingly critical. Telecom towers, fibre networks and data centres should be treated as essential services. Regulations must acknowledge that digital infrastructure is as crucial to economic progress as physical infrastructure.
Drawing a parallel with the power sector, both industries are undergoing rapid change driven by green energy adoption and growing electricity requirements. Telecom towers represent a convergence of these two sectors. Each tower consumes substantial electricity, and innovation in energy efficiency and sustainability is becoming the next major frontier. The industry currently depends on diesel generators and valve-regulated lead-acid batteries, but innovation is under way to introduce advanced batteries and reduce diesel usage to support environmental goals.
AI itself will also transform the telecom infrastructure industry. Today, site designs are based on factors such as electrical load and spectrum bands. However, many other critical parameters, such as local weather conditions and grid availability, are often overlooked. Using AI-driven insights in design and operations can improve efficiency, performance and maintenance dramatically.
Another innovation is the digital twinning of telecom sites. Using drones and advanced imaging tools, operators can capture detailed site information remotely, eliminating frequent manual inspections. This enables the complete digital visualisation of tower sites and allows backend teams to perform inspections and maintenance tasks remotely.
These innovations, spanning power efficiency, AI integration and remote monitoring, represent the future of telecom infrastructure and the next phase of India’s digital growth journey.
Gopa Kumar Krishna
AI has become a dominant theme in industry discussions, but it is equally important to extend the conversation beyond urban centres and shape a long-term vision for rural India. Although large-scale rural deployment may seem ambitious at present, strategic leadership must plan ahead to make it a reality. The government’s BharatNet programme offers a strong foundation, yet the country remains some distance from achieving that goal.
Digital literacy and public trust remain limited in rural regions, slowing AI adoption. From a telecom perspective, rural infrastructure is still at a formative stage, and the economics of extending networks to low-revenue zones discourage operators. Investments are high, while the ARPU often fails to justify the cost. In several villages, even a 2G connection remains the norm, highlighting a sharp divide between urban and rural realities.
Policymakers therefore have a decisive role in enabling this transition. Two factors are particularly critical. The first is the creation of neutral networks, such as BharatNet, which can act as shared digital highways. Relying on multiple private infrastructures leads to duplication and higher costs, whereas a common neutral framework can streamline expansion and make it more efficient.
The second imperative lies in strengthening the device ecosystem. Transitioning users from 2G to 5G is not straightforward, especially in rural areas where affordability, logistics and after-sales support remain challenges. If the government focuses on these two dimensions – building robust neutral networks and improving device accessibility – the vision can become a reality soon.
Prashant Ramesh Malkani
AI will achieve its full potential in rural India only when it is supported by a complete ecosystem. While connectivity, data centres and processing form the core foundation, several additional pillars are needed to make AI deployment practical and effective.
The first is end use, which depends on having the right devices, sensors and ecosystem. In agriculture, specialised sensors capture soil and field data that can then be processed through AI systems to provide insights and guidance.
The second pillar is the availability of reliable end devices that form the interface between users and networks. With the rise of fibre-integrated wireless devices, the ecosystem is evolving to ensure seamless data flow between infrastructure and applications.
The third pillar is the presence of smaller edge data centres. In urban areas, large data centres are common, but they require significant space and power. Smaller edge data centres, powered by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, can provide the required computing capability while remaining sustainable and cost-effective.
Above all, the most crucial infrastructure is the human workforce. Developing competence and training at the local level will ensure that people can use, maintain and benefit from the technology effectively. Combining these three global pillars with devices, edge data centres and human capacity will help AI scale meaningfully across rural India.
Technology transitions from 3G to 4G and now to 5G have consistently brought practical applications to life. With AI becoming an integral part of the ecosystem, vast amounts of data are being collected and processed, creating even more targeted use cases for rural India.
Agriculture remains one of the strongest examples. With AI and machine learning, data captured through sensors can now be analysed to offer farmers precise recommendations on how to improve crop yields.
Another major area is telemedicine. Earlier, digital health solutions connected rural patients with urban doctors through video links. Now, AI enables these systems to analyse and correlate medical data, assisting in diagnosis and helping predict treatments.
To implement these solutions effectively, a structured and localised approach is required. The rural landscape can be viewed in layers: district, block, gram panchayat and village, each with distinct needs and capabilities. Infrastructure design and deployment must therefore be customised for each level.
Finally, localisation is essential, not only in technical design but also in language, context and usability to ensure that technology truly serves its purpose.
Rajeev Narang
Affordability remains a major challenge for citizens living in rural settings. The government’s Rs 1.7 trillion Digital Bharat project, spread over 10 years, aims to make digital services available at much lower costs, empowering rural communities across the country.
The Digital Bharat project, with BharatNet as its key component, is being implemented under the close supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office to achieve this objective. Over the next three years, every village in India will be covered under BharatNet, creating AI-ready infrastructure nationwide. BharatNet will not only connect rural regions but also strengthen urban networks, helping build a unified national digital framework.
A significant part of this effort includes providing 15 million rural broadband connections, fully funded by the government. BharatNet is thus driving digital development in rural areas while complementing urban projects. The roll-out of 5G and upcoming 6G networks will ensure that connectivity seamlessly reaches every corner of rural India through BharatNet’s infrastructure.
Past challenges about BharatNet’s pace and reliability are now being addressed. The project has undergone a complete revamp, with key issues such as inconsistent power supply being resolved. Within three years, every village is expected to be digitally on par with urban areas.
BharatNet’s open-access model ensures that any telecom operator, including Reliance Jio and others, can utilise its infrastructure.
The government has made its stance clear that it is ready to provide all necessary support, but the industry must step forward to leverage this infrastructure and bring rural areas on par with urban ones.
To ensure quality and transparency, new monitoring mechanisms are being introduced under BharatNet. The roll-out now uses advanced geographic information system-based mapping tools, which enable real-time visibility of the fibre network during deployment and maintenance.
Rajeev Saluja
AI tools, apart from powerful algorithms, rely on three key elements – data, cloud infrastructure and high speed connectivity. When these three come together, AI becomes truly effective and impactful.
The biggest challenge lies in ensuring high speed connectivity, especially in transferring large amounts of data from remote regions. Reliance Jio has deployed over 1 million 5G cells and more than 1 million km of fibre to carry data to and from the remote parts of the country. The company processes nearly 320 billion records every day to understand network behaviour and optimise performance. It is also setting up a gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure in Jamnagar, powered entirely by renewable energy.
Another crucial element is cloud infrastructure, particularly edge data centres. The goal is to bring data closer to users so that they can process and analyse it in real time. Jio is building data centres across India and expanding edge deployments deep into rural areas.
Over the past 12 months, rural data traffic has grown 2.2 times, with Jio’s network handling about 20 exabytes of data per month, half of which originates from rural India. Interestingly, 70-80 per cent of total rural traffic has already migrated to 5G. This shows that the real digital divide is not between urban and rural India but between users of 2G and 5G devices. Rural users are adopting technology rapidly.
From a telecom perspective, a few priorities include a clear spectrum road map to guide the evolution from 5G-Advanced to 6G and consistent power infrastructure for telecom networks, AI systems and edge data centres.
On the device front, Jio continues to innovate with affordable solutions. The Jio Bharat phone has made entry-level devices cheaper, while Jio AirFiber is extending broadband connectivity to remote regions. For service providers, expanding into rural India is essential, and progress is accelerating under supportive policies.
In rural areas, the surge in data traffic now goes beyond entertainment. Education and financial transactions are major contributors, while healthcare is emerging as another strong use case.
