COAI Year-End Review for 2025 and Roadmap of India’s Telecom Growth

The Indian telecom industry remained central to the country’s digital growth in 2025, with the overall subscriber base reaching 1.2 billion by November and teledensity rising to 86.76 per cent. Wireless broadband continued to dominate with 954.99 million users compared to 44.82 million wireline connections, supported by rapid 5G adoption that rose to 394 million subscriptions by the end of the year, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report. Network expansion was equally strong as India crossed 5.15 lakh 5G BTS sites and average mobile data usage touched 36 GB per month, with a forecast of 65 GB by 2031. Fixed Wireless Access also grew steadily with subscribers rising to 13.18 million in October across both urban and rural markets. Moreover, telecom exports from India have increased by 72% in the last 5 years, increasing to Rs. 18,406 crores in FY25, from Rs. 10,000 crores in FY21.

The year saw a sharper focus on resilience and self-reliance with operators enhancing cyber defence capabilities through AI-based fraud detection and cloud-security investments that protected millions of users from malicious calls and links. Domestic manufacturing gained momentum under Make-in-India and PLI schemes enabling nearly 60% import substitution in telecom products and turning India into an emerging exporter of 4G and 5G equipment. These advances, combined with continued operator investment in automation and predictive maintenance, positioned the sector for the Bharat 6G Vision which targets a 10% contribution to global 6G patents supported by national testbeds and research initiatives.

Policy and Regulatory Milestones

2025 was also a year of important regulatory developments as the sector moved to align with the new Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the evolving framework for service authorisations. The industry has consistently emphasized that the new authorisation regime should retain the contractual certainty of the current licensing framework to support long‑term investments.

The Hon’ble Telecom Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia set an ambitious target for the industry to contribute 20% to India’s GDP in the next decade. The draft National Telecom Policy correctly identifies this strategic direction and we are engaged in a constructive dialogue with the Government to fine-tune the specifics, but the overall vision aligns with the industry. The policy must cement telecom’s role as a national enabler, not just another vertical industry. The Government has also supported telecom operators with policies like the right of way (RoW), but still several authorities continue to charge exorbitant fees for laying network elements.

Spam, Fraud and the App based communication services Gap

A defining theme of 2025 was the focused effort to tackle spam calls, scam messages and digital frauds that erode consumer trust. Telecom operators have already implemented a wide range of measures under TRAI’s TCCCPR framework including PE–TM binding, DLT‑based header and content registration and analytics‑based spam tagging on voice and SMS. Building on this, all operators successfully rolled out the P/S/T/G suffix system for commercial SMS headers this year, which helps users instantly identify whether a message is promotional, service‑related, transactional or from the Government.​

These efforts have delivered noticeable reductions in spam on traditional channels. However, a growing share of unsolicited and fraudulent communication has shifted to App based communication services which currently sit outside the telecom regulatory framework. The industry has repeatedly highlighted that this gap not only weakens consumer protection but also adds to the broader financial strain on telecom networks.

An important milestone in this context was the DoT’s landmark decision to mandate SIM‑binding for app‑based communication services, a first‑of‑its‑kind measure globally. Persistent SIM‑binding ensures that a communication app remains continuously linked to the verified mobile SIM and number used during registration, significantly improving accountability and traceability in cases of fraud or misuse. Telecom operators have strongly supported this step, viewing it as a critical layer in India’s defence against rising cyber frauds and platform abuse.​

Private Networks, Spectrum and Infrastructure Challenges

The year also saw active debate around captive private 5G networks and direct spectrum allocation to enterprises. The industry’s position remains that India’s extensive public mobile coverage makes the conventional justification for independent private networks largely inapplicable in most geographies and that enterprise 5G needs are best served through spectrum leasing and network slicing by licensed telecom operators. This model ensures efficient spectrum utilization, avoids interference risks and maintains national security safeguards such as lawful interception and traceability which may be harder to enforce in fragmented private deployments.​

On the spectrum front, the 6 GHz band continued to be a key concern. Global studies have underlined that mid‑band spectrum in the order of 2 GHz will be needed to meet 5G traffic growth and the industry has reiterated the importance of assigning the upper 6 GHz band for IMT services rather than unlicensed use, while also calling for stronger enforcement against illegal Wi‑Fi 6E devices sold via e‑commerce platforms.​ The WRC 2027 (World Radiocommunication Conference 2027) will be a critical forum for finalizing the global use of the 6 GHz spectrum band, with the Indian telecom operators advocating strongly for its allocation to licensed mobile services (5G and future 6G) via auction.

Recognizing this urgency, the Government of India took a landmark step this year by approving the refarming of 687 MHz of spectrum previously held by government agencies such as Defence and ISRO. This initiative, strongly backed by the telcos, raises India’s total IMT spectrum from 900 MHz to approximately 1,587 MHz, a game-changer in addressing network capacity constraints.

The Government has also taken strong steps to protect network quality by curbing the illegal sale of mobile signal boosters and jammers online. New e‑commerce guidelines notified in mid‑2025 explicitly prohibit listing such equipment, directly addressing an issue the industry has raised for years due to the interference and degradation these unauthorised devices cause.​

The telcos have also urged the Government to reform the spectrum allocation and pricing regime. We believe that the current auction-driven model, combined with high input costs, poses a threat to the financial sustainability of the telecom sector. The spectrum pricing should align with present-day market realities, not legacy revenue expectations. The current method of auctions has been designed more for vertical spaces in telecom. But now, with telecom becoming a horizontal enabler, a new algorithm has to be designed by the Government and by TRAI, taking into account that this is a foundational sector.

Digital Trust, Convergence and the Road Ahead

Across all these developments, the common thread in 2025 was digital trust. Parliamentary recommendations on converging the Telecom, IT and Broadcasting Ministries under a unified umbrella for better policy coherence reflect how deeply communications now cuts across sectors. The industry has welcomed this direction, especially for cross‑channel issues like spam and fraud, that span both networks and App based communication services, and therefore, demand uniform policy treatment.​

As 2025 closes, the sector’s focus is firmly on strengthening digital trust and ensuring that future networks are secure, reliable and inclusive. With the foundations for 5G scale, spectrum reform and unified safeguards now in place, India’s telecom industry is moving into a phase where innovation and trust will define competitiveness, setting the stage for a decade of resilient and globally benchmarked digital connectivity.

Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, Director General, COAI