Entry of new communications service providers in the form of satcom created a spark in the sector with Elon Musk-led Starlink getting permission to start services, but pending security clearance and delay in decision over spectrum pricing have pushed its potential rollout to the next year.
Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said satcom services, which were earlier a figment of imagination, will be a reality soon. "We have given out three licences. You are looking at, hopefully very soon, the pricing norm coming out for administratively assigned spectrum and that satellite technology being also offered in our bouquet of offerings to the public," Scindia said.
Entry of Starlink is expected to add to the competition in the premium segment, which is dominated by telecom operators, mainly Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The government has been making an effort to revive Vodafone Idea (VIL) and BSNL to check the market from getting into a duopoly and continue to keep the market competitive to protect the interest of consumers.
VIL, in its petition before the Supreme Court, had said liability based on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of the company was Rs 83,400 crore as of March 31, 2025 and it has to pay Rs 18,000 crore annually starting from March 2026 for the next six years. The company said due to the enormous AGR liability and no bank funding, its "very survival is under peril".
A CLSA report in December said the government will likely consider waiver of interest (at least in part) and penalties and interest on penalties that make up a bulk of AGR dues. Relief may also include the government expanding a moratorium on AGR payments. While doing so, the government also needs to strike a balance between loss to the national exchequer, level-playing between telecom operators and interest of consumers.
In the meantime, the government's bet on BSNL and revival plan seems to have paid off. The state-run telecommunications company posted two consecutive quarters of profit and has started gaining subscribers with the launch of 4G services. The government spent on BSNL capex and rural broadband projects, providing a lifeline to telecom gear makers, especially indigenous players.
Industry body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), Director General SP Kochhar said 2025 saw a sharper focus on resilience. "Domestic manufacturing gained momentum under Make-in-India and PLI schemes, enabling nearly 60 per cent import substitution in telecom products and turning India into an emerging exporter of 4G and 5G equipment. Moreover, telecom exports from India have increased by 72 per cent in the last five years, increasing to Rs 18,406 crore in FY25, from Rs 10,000 crore in FY21," he said.
HFCL Managing Director Mahendra Nahata said the telecommunications infrastructure landscape has reached a critical threshold where capacity, density and deployment speed determine competitive advantage. "India installed over 5 lakh 5G base stations, achieving 85 per cent population coverage, while total wireless data reached 65,009 petabytes in the second quarter of 2025, an unprecedented surge that makes fiberisation not optional but existential for network quality," he said.
HFCL has emerged as the first company in India to design, develop, and manufacture 5G fixed wireless access equipment for giga-speed wireless broadband connectivity.
GX Group CEO Paritosh Prajapati said demand resilience, policy continuity and manufacturing scale met industry expectations in 2025. "However, faster execution, especially in approvals and compliance, would have accelerated localisation and capex deployment further. Stronger demand-side support for domestically manufactured products could also have helped deepen the ecosystem," he said.
Also read: India’s telecom sector records historic growth in 2025
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