Important Milestones In Indian Telecom Sector In 2021

India has the world's second-largest mobile network with a total subscriber base of 1.17 billion. The industry has witnessed exponential growth in the past few years, which is driven by wider availability, affordable tariffs, the rollout of MNP, 3G and 4G coverage expansion, and more.

Furthermore, the telecommunications industry is segmented into categories such as infrastructure, mobile virtual network operators, equipment, white space spectrum, 5G, broadband, and telephone service providers. With the progress that is going on in the industry, India is all set to become the second-largest smartphone market in the world by 2025 with nearly 1 billion installed devices and 920 unique mobile subscribers.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is targeting a combination of 100% broadband connectivity in rural areas and 55% fiberization of mobile towers. Also, it intends to achieve 25 Mbps average broadband speeds, and 30 lakh km of optic fiber rollouts by the end of 2022. Here, we are listing all major milestones achieved by the telecom industry this year.

Telecom Relief Package

Telecom operators have finally received a package from the government in September. The new package brings relief for incumbent telecom operators as both have to clear dues, including AGR, SUC, and license fees. However, this package is expected to help Vodafone-Idea.

The government has announced nine measures to improve the conditions of the telecom operators. It includes removing non-telecom items from the adjusted gross revenue definition. Also, the government announced a moratorium with interest rates for four years. The government has also addressed liquidity requirements issues in the telecom sector by approving moratorium/Deferment of up to four years in annual payments of dues from AGR dues and payments of spectrum purchased in past auctions.

Prepaid Plans Tariff Hike

Ever since the launch of the Reliance Jio telecom services, the telcos have been competing hard against each other by slashing the call rates and offering data at very cheap rates. The competition is so intense in the past five years that some telcos have shut their service while others such as Vodafone and Idea have merged to thrive in the industry.

As a move to increase their ARPU (average revenue per user), the telcos have increased their prepaid tariff plans. Initially, Airtel raised the cost of its prepaid plans by 25 percent and this was followed by Vi. Also, Reliance Jio increased the cost of its prepaid plans. However, BSNL has refrained from doing the same. Besides prepaid plans, even their data vouchers and broadband plans have witnessed a price hike.

Satellite Broadband Takes Center Stage

The satellite broadband segment takes the center stage in India now and we can expect it to grow further and come to reality in the coming years. As there is a vast market and huge prospect, India has become the center stage for launching low-latency, high-speed satellite broadband services by leading players. Already, Sunit Mittal-owned OneWeb, Amazon and SpaceX from Elon Musk are gearing up to set foot into the Indian satcom market, which is untapped for now.

Notably, satellite broadband communications is touted to be the next big technological revolution that will solve the country's digital device and let everyone stay connected to the internet.

5G Trials In Rural Broadband Areas

While 5G is yet to be commercialized in India, 5G trials have begun in the country. Recently, 5G trials were conducted at Ajol Village in Gujarat. A team of two private mobile service providers and DoT officials reached the place to measure the speeds and it delivered 105.47 Mbps download speed and 58.77 Mbps upload speed.

The uses cases of the same include connected classrooms with VR, 360-degree VR content playback and more that are under testing. It is touted to connect the student with the teacher even when they are far away.

BSNL 4G Launch

BSNL, the telco owned by the government, is expanding its 4G networks to various regions in India. It is expected to roll out the same across the country by September 2022. Also, the first test cell was made from a 4G network developed and made in India under the installation in Chandigarh. Meanwhile, private telcos Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea have successfully carried out 5G trials in metropolitan cities of India.