As of 2019, India was the second-largest telecommunications market across the globe, with a subscriber base of over a billion users. The number of subscribers of the telecommunications company Bharti Airtel was approximately 403 million in 2019. The company operates across Asia and Africa in over 16 countries. In terms of subscribers, the company ranks amongst the leading three mobile service providers.

The Indian telecommunications industry

Spending in the communication services segment across the south Asian country was estimated to reach over 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Of this amount, more than 30 percent of the market was estimated to go to the telecommunications sector. With a growing subscriber base, investments into the sector have increased. The country saw a foreign direct investment equity inflow of about 2.7 billion dollars in 2019. India became the fastest growing market for mobile based applications in the world in 2018.

Government initiatives and outlook

As per the national e-governance plan, the department of Information Technology intends to set up more than a million internet-accessible common service centers, to aid the rapid increasing number of internet users within the country. The IP traffic was expected to increase four-fold in 2021, playing a vital role in revenue generation and possible mergers and acquisitions in the sector.