Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister of communications, electronics and information technology, and railways
The year 2023 was one of positive growth and major milestones for the Indian telecom sector. The key developments during the year were the nationwide roll-out of 5G services and the development of 6G technologies. The government took proactive measures to foster the evolution of these network generations and promote digital inclusivity. Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister of communications, electronics and information technology, and railways, spoke about the sector’s growth and government initiatives at various events during the past year. Edited excerpts from some of his addresses…
Sector progress and achievements
The telecom sector has witnessed an investment of about Rs 25 billion, about Rs 34 billion has been generated in sales, and more than 17,000 people have been employed. In the past nine years, the sector has been transformed completely, from one plagued by litigation, legacy issues and unhealthy debates to a healthy, sunrise sector that focuses on innovation, investment and growth. Several factors have contributed to this, including proactive governance and a clear vision of the government. All legal and judicial challenges have been addressed, allowing us to focus on the sector’s future growth. Many structural and procedural reforms have been implemented, reducing processing times from months to a few seconds or days. Today, other countries look at India’s telecom sector as an example for developing their own telecom sector.
Between 2014 and 2023, data costs have decreased from Rs 300 per GB to Rs 10 per GB. Right-of-way permissions used to take up to 230 days, which has reduced to nine days on average. The total number of base transceiver stations was around 625,000, which has now increased to over 2.5 million, marking an almost fourfold expansion in coverage. The number of internet users in the country has increased from 250 million to 850 million-900 million. Inward foreign direct investment was very limited earlier, but has now surged to $24 billion.
The government plans to invest an additional $13 billion in the BharatNet project to boost connectivity and provide affordable internet services to all.”
Global leadership in 5G
India is a telecom powerhouse, known for having achieved the world’s fastest 5G roll-out. Today, we have 5G on more than 400,000 sites, and the country currently ranks as one of the top three ecosystems for 5G networks. India today has more than the combined number of sites in the US and Europe. This is a huge achievement for the country.
Further, 100 5G labs are being inaugurated to enable industry, academia, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to work on innovative use cases and develop products in various verticals. This will facilitate the emergence of new start-ups. Each lab will have at least 10 professors, 50 students and 10 MSMEs working on 5G-related technological innovation.
Expanding 4G coverage
There has been a significant change in the way telecom services are being rolled out. Earlier, there was a narrative that telecom services could never reach rural areas, but today, our 4G footprint covers close to 99 per cent of the country. Around $4.8 billion has been allocated to saturate the country with 4G coverage, enabling more citizens to access the benefits of high speed internet connectivity.
BSNL and BharatNet
Around 150,000 optical fibre/broadband connections are being provided in the rural areas. As of September 2023, out of 644,131 villages in the country, approximately 616,300 villages are covered with mobile connectivity, achieving a coverage rate of 95.7 per cent. The government has planned 41,160 towers to be set up in uncovered areas to provide connectivity to over 54,000 villages, entailing an investment of Rs 413.31 billion. It plans to invest an additional $13 billion in the BharatNet project to boost connectivity and provide affordable internet services to all. About $8.5 billion has already been invested in this project, bringing the total to over Rs 1 trillion.
The progress can be attributed to the work done by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which has now become profitable. BSNL’s 4G and 5G technology stack was developed within the country, making India among the five countries across the globe to have successfully developed end-to-end telecom technology. The government has a clear commitment to ensure the growth and revival of BSNL and position it as an important market stabilising force.
Telecom manufacturing and exports
Ten years ago, 98 per cent of the mobile phones used in India were being imported. It was unimaginable for the country to become an exporter of telecom and technology products. But today, India is perceived as a telecom manufacturing hub. It produces 98 per cent of its mobile phones domestically through the Make in India initiative. The Indian mobile industry has experienced exponential growth, expanding by a remarkable factor of 20 in nine years. In 2022, the country exported over Rs 900 billion worth of cell phones, a testament to its growing prowess in the global telecom market. Telecom equipment manufactured in India is exported to over 70 countries, including highly developed nations such as the US and Japan.
I would also like to highlight the success of our telecom manufacturing production-linked incentive scheme for telecom and networking products. Companies have invested Rs 24.18 billion under the scheme till date. This has translated into sales of Rs 345.16 billion, exports of Rs 76 billion and employment of 17,753 individuals. These companies have already become exporters to countries such as the US, setting a new benchmark. We are also witnessing a growing trend where an increasing number of countries want to import from us.
India will soon see the local production of Gorilla Glass, a crucial component of mobile devices used to protect display screens. This will bolster the country’s position in the global mobile manufacturing industry. Additionally, through the India Semiconductor Mission, the country aims to become a global hub for chip manufacturing.
India is a telecom powerhouse, known for having achieved the world’s fastest 5G roll-out. The country currently ranks as one of the top three ecosystems for 5G networks and has more than the combined number of sites in the US and Europe. This is a huge achievement.
6G initiatives
The government released the Bharat 6G Vision document to design, develop and deploy 6G network technologies. It gives me immense joy to share that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has accepted this document to incorporate it into its standards. India has also contributed to the ITU’s International Mobile Technology 2030 framework for the inclusion of “ubiquitous connectivity” as one of the six usage scenarios of 6G, and coverage, interoperability and sustainability as capabilities of 6G technology.
Additionally, the Bharat 6G Alliance, a collaborative platform of domestic industry, academia, national research institutions and standards organisations, is working towards enabling India to become a leading global supplier of intellectual property (IP), products and solutions. The government has laid down phase-wise objectives for 6G technology, and the apex council will recommend the research and innovation pathways to be explored, as well as periodically review the implementation progress of the Bharat 6G Vision. So far, Indian entities, including scientists, engineers and academicians, have acquired over 200 patents for 6G technology and the number is increasing every week.
Digital India
Digital India has reached every corner of the country. The whole world is discussing and trying to emulate what we have achieved under Digital India. Even in the smallest and remotest pockets of the country, people use digital payments. A country as technologically advanced as Japan has decided to work with us to create a payment system similar to the one India has developed. It is a very important milestone for the country.
Future plans and targets
If India is a bright spot today, telecom is one of the brightest spots. The world is looking towards India with hope and adopting the technology developed here. This is an opportune time for all of us to join hands and make sure that the momentum we have created is converted into products, patents and more technologies for 6G. The time has come for us to be more aggressive and confident, and push more IP into the 5G and 5G Advanced space. As the world moves towards 6G, we should set a minimum target of 10 per cent for 6G IP rights to originate from India by 2029-30.
We will be doing many more things. We are already working on the next set of telecom reforms and, hopefully, we should be able to roll them out soon. We are also working on developing a fully optical communication system, which will have practically zero latency. This initiative will be a huge advancement for telemedicine and telesurgery.
The future direction of the global telecom space will be decided in India. The country will soon be a base for global design, innovation and manufacturing. The standardisation of 6G will further boost India’s stature in the global telecom space.
