India’s telecom sector ended 2025 on a strong footing, with the department of telecommunications (DoT) recording major gains in digital connectivity, infrastructure expansion and technology self-reliance, according to a year-end review released by the ministry of communications.A key development during the year was the launch of the National Broadband Mission (NBM) 2.0 in January. The initiative aims to speed up digital inclusion by expanding high-speed broadband access to villages, schools, health centres and other critical institutions, supporting the government’s long-term vision of a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047.The review highlighted a sharp rise in internet and mobile usage. Total internet connections crossed the 100-crore mark, nearly four times higher than in 2014. Broadband subscriptions also touched close to 100 crore, while average monthly data consumption per wireless user jumped to 24 GB, placing India among the highest data-consuming nations globally. Median mobile broadband speeds rose sharply as well, reaching over 130 Mbps by October 2025.The nationwide rollout of 5G stood out as one of the year’s defining achievements. 5G services are now available across all states and Union Territories, covering 99.9 per cent of districts and reaching around 85 per cent of the population. Telecom operators have installed more than 5.08 lakh 5G base stations, supported by a doubling of optical fibre cable length since 2019.Rural connectivity also expanded rapidly, with rural telephone connections rising nearly 43 per cent since 2014, almost twice the growth rate seen in urban areas. Overall tele-density reached 86.65 per cent by September.The year also marked a technological milestone, with India becoming the world’s fifth country to develop an indigenous 4G technology stack. Built by C-DOT, Tejas Networks and TCS and deployed by BSNL, the system is fully software-driven and upgradeable to 5G, news agency ANI reported. Progress was also recorded under the Bharat 6G Mission.On the citizen services front, platforms such as Sanchar Saathi gained wide adoption. The portal logged 22 crore visits, while its mobile app saw over 1.5 crore downloads. The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator helped prevent losses of about Rs 450 crore by flagging more than 70 lakh suspicious transactions.Manufacturing also showed strong momentum, with the telecom PLI scheme generating cumulative sales of over Rs 96,000 crore and exports exceeding Rs 19,000 crore, reinforcing India’s shift towards becoming a global digital and innovation hub.
