NEW DELHI: Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday advocated for at least four telecom operators in the country, emphasizing that the telecom sector is very robust.
The minister noted that very few countries have four major players in their telecom markets, with India being one of them.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of a curative petition filed by telecom service providers seeking a re-computation of their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, Scindia mentioned that Supreme Court orders need to be executed.
The minister stated that the government is currently examining the implications and repercussions of the court’s order and acknowledged that it must be executed.
“So, the Supreme Court’s judgment has just come out. Whatever its order may be, it must be executed. We are still in the process of examining it and assessing its potential repercussions. But let me say this: our telecom sector is extremely robust. It’s a sector where we have four players. There are very few countries in the world that can boast of having four players within their telecom sector. India is one of those,” said Scindia.
Scindia highlighted India’s fastest 5G rollout, with 4.5 lakh base tower stations installed and 97% of cities covered with 5G. The telecom sector’s robustness enabled this achievement, with Rs 4.26 lakh crore invested in capex over two years.
Regarding 4G coverage in uncovered villages, a total of 7,101 4G mobile towers have been commissioned by the telecom service providers including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and BSNL, under various Digital Bharat Nidhi-funded 4G schemes, including the 4G saturation scheme. Out of these, 2,618 towers have been made operational since June 2024.