The government, on Tuesday, reiterated that duopoly in the telecom sector is not good and that there must be intense competition in every sector.

Speaking at an event of Broadband India Forum (BIF), Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said there is intense competition in the country among Internet service providers (ISPs), and the government will issue rules for delicensing 6 gigahertz spectrum before August 15 which will be used for WiFi services and bridging of digital divide.

“Our job is to provide as many avenues as possible and within each vertical as well, provide intense competition. It’s not good enough having a duopoly of one carrier or two carriers,” said Scindia.

At present, the Indian telecom sector is being dominated by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio who are actively providing 4G and 5G services. Debt-ridden Vodafone-Idea has expressed apprehension on its survival in a petition filed before the Supreme Court, and State-run BSNL is yet to roll out 4G and 5G services at a pan-India level.

Scindia said the country has fibre technology for broadband, WiFi and soon there will be satellite services after three companies, including Reliance Industries-led SES joint venture, Airtel-Oneweb and Starlink, getting licences to provide Satcom services in the country.

The Minister said spectrum will be soon assigned to these companies on an administrative basis.

“Our responsibility is towards 1.4 billion of our country’s brothers and sisters. Our job is to provide every opportunity to them. Our job is to provide every technology to them. Our job is to make sure that Moore’s law operates in the economic sphere. That is as volume rises, prices fall,” said Scindia.

Lowest tariff rates

He noted that India has the lowest tariff rates for communication services. For instance, earlier 1GB mobile data used to cost ₹287, which has now come down to ₹9 per GB, while the world average cost per GB is $2.49.

Scindia also appealed to the device makers and chip companies to produce devices at a nominal cost to allow Indians connect with broadband.

“We cannot allow devices to become the new digital divide in our country. If you look at the three components of this space — terrestrial fibre, satellite connectivity and devices at nominal cost — all three represent the bouquet that presents the opportunity for our countrymen and women to power forward and innovate their lives,” he added.

Published on June 24, 2025