Tele-density in country rose from 75 pc to 87 pc in 7 years since 2014
SGT Times Reporter
Delhi, December 31
Total telephone connections rose to 118.9 crore in September 2021 from 93 crores in March 2014, with a growth of 28 % in the said period. The number of mobile connections reached to 1165.97 million in September 2021. The tele-density which was 75.23% in March 2014 has reached 86.89% in September 2021. Urban telephone connections rose to 66 crores in September 2021 from 55 crores in March 2014, a growth of 20% while the growth in rural telephone connections was 40%, which is double of urban increase, rising from 38 crores in March 2014 to 53 crores in September 2021. The rural tele-density jumped from 44% in March 2014 to 59% in September 2021.
Internet connections jumped from 25.15 crore in March 2014 to 83.37 crore in June 2021, registering a growth of 231%. Broadband connections rose from 6.1 crore in March 2014 to 79 crores in June 2021, growing by about 1200%. Average revenue realization per subscriber per GB wireless data reduced to Rs. 9.8 in June 2021 from Rs. 268.97 in December 2014, a reduction of more than 96%. Average monthly data consumption per wireless data subscriber increased by 22605% to 14 GB in June 2021 from 61.66 MB in March 2014.
The number of Mobile Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) increased from 8 lakhs in 2014 to 23 lakhs in 2021 growing by 187 %.
The number of mobile towers increased from 4 lakhs in 2014 to 6.6 lakh in 2021 growing by 65%.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in telecom sector rose by around 150% between 2014-2021 from Rs. 62,386 Crore in 2002 to 2014 to Rs. 1,55,353 crores during 2014-2021.
India climbed 21 spots in Network Readiness Index 2021 (released on 2-12-2021), reached to 67th position. In a major improvement India jumped 21 rank, from 88 in 2020 to 67th positionin 2021, in Network Readiness Index(NRI) which was developed by World Economic Forum in 2002 and now published by M/s Portulans Institute, Washington.
India ranked 3rd among lower middle income countries and 12th among Asia & Pacific countries. The number of countries being evaluated is 130.
The report released on 02-12-2021 reveals that India not only improved its ranking but also improved NRI score from 41.57 in 2020 to 49.74 in 2021 i.e 20%.
The report stated, “India is another strong economy in the region and made one of the most notable improvement in NRI 2021 by jumping 21 positions. The aggressive upward movement resulted from better country-wide performance in addition to the introduction to more relevant indicators to the NRI framework. India displayed significant progress across most pillars and sub-pillars, with the technology pillar (49th) as it’s best dimension.…”
Technology ownership is considered necessary to take lead in the global competitive market and also to make value addition in global supply chains with IPRs. The technology control also facilitates development and production of cost-effective communication network products and devices to bridge digital divide considering the large rural geographies in the country.
Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative provides a big impetus to address current and future technology needs in telecom sector. The following initiatives are being driven in the next generation communication technologies including 5G, upcoming 6G, Quantum Communications etc.