30 Years On, Telecom Calling

The Indian telecom story, seen through numbers, could dazzle anyone. But, is it a happy story, 30 years after the first mobile call was made in India in July 1995?

- Nivedita Mookerji

First, the numbers.

Mobile subscribers in the country are close to 1.2 billion, out of 9.1 billion globally. Internet subscribers in India are pegged at over 970 million, compared to 5.56 billion around the world. India's broadband subscribers stand at more than 940 million, against the global figure of 5.3 billion.

On the handset side, the stats are equally impressive. From importing 75 percent of the handsets till not very long ago, the country has moved to exporting mobile phones worth ₹1.8 trillion a year. And India has wowed the world with 1.8 billion digital transactions annually.

As Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told this newspaper in a recent interview, the telecom growth story of India has become the envy of the globe. While that may be the case, the high subscriber numbers and the impressive digital transaction volumes are accompanied by rock-bottom tariffs. Mobile call rates have fallen to around 0.03 paise a minute, from 50 paise a minute 10 years ago. And data cost has seen a steep fall to ₹9 per GB, from ₹287 per GB 10 years ago. Against the average global data cost of $2.49 per GB, India's is 11 cents ($0.11). That gives India an advantage like none other in terms of digital connectivity.