TRAI annual report flags India's telecom shift to execution phase

India’s telecom sector is no longer defined primarily by expansion—the latest Annual Report for 2024–25 from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India points to a clear inflection point—one where headline indicators remain positive.

There is, however, a shift in the underlying drivers—from the number of subscribers to quality of infrastructure and services and regulatory restructuring. The report signals a transition from a volume-led telecom market to a more structurally mature digital communications ecosystem.

At the macro level, India’s telecom footprint remains formidable. The overall subscriber base stood at 1,200.8 million (120.08 crore) at the end of March 2025, reinforcing India’s position as the world’s second-largest telecom market. However, beneath this aggregate figure lies a notable divergence.

Wireless subscriptions declined by 8.5 million (85 lakh) during FY25—down from 1,165.49 million (116.5 crore), end of March 2024, while wireline connections grew by 9.6%, adding 3.25 million (32.5 lakh) subscribers over the year. This subtle but significant reversal indicates a gradual rebalancing towards fixed connectivity, fibre-led broadband, and enterprise-grade access rather than mobile-only growth.

TRAI itself frames the year as one of consolidation rather than unchecked expansion. “The year 2024–25 marked a defining phase for the Indian telecom and broadcasting sectors, witnessing expansive growth, technological transformation, and regulatory progress,” the Authority notes, adding that its interventions were aimed at ensuring “structured growth” amid rapid technological change.

Market Signals Reflect a Shift in Access Models

The broadband story, as reported by TRAI, reinforces this transition. Overall, India’s broadband subscriber base reached 944.12 million (94.4 crore) during the fiscal year, while the total number of internet subscribers climbed to 969.1 million (96.9 crore), placing the country on the threshold of a billion-user digital economy. Importantly, this growth is no longer driven solely by mobile handsets.

Notably, India’s broadband subscriber base crossed the one billion mark in November 2025, up from 131.49 million (13.1 crore) at the end of November 2015.

The year 2024-25 also saw TRAI separately reporting 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) subscribers, revealing a base of 6.77 million (67.7 lakh) connections by the end of March 2025.

The early concentration of these connections with a single operator highlights both the potential and the competitive dynamics of FWA as an alternative to fibre in select markets, particularly where last-mile economics or deployment timelines remain challenging.

The near-universal rollout of 5G provides the backbone for this shift. As of February 2025, 5G services were available in 99.6% of India’s districts, supported by 4.69 lakh base transceiver stations, with around 250 million (25 crore) subscribers using 5G services.

While TRAI describes this as one of the fastest global deployments, the report also signals a change in emphasis. “The focus has moved beyond capacity and adoption,” it observes, pointing to growing attention on “secure, intelligent foundations” capable of delivering predictable performance at scale.

Taken together, these trends suggest that India’s next phase of telecom growth will be defined less by mass subscriber additions and more by the mix of access technologies serving enterprises, households, and public services.

Regulatory Actions Steering the Sector’s Transition

If market signals indicate where the sector is heading, TRAI’s regulatory actions during 2024–25 show how that transition is being guided.

The Authority highlights its “multifaceted contributions” across licensing, spectrum management, infrastructure policy, tariffs, and consumer protection, positioning regulation as an enabler of structural change rather than a reactive constraint.

At the centre of this reset was TRAI’s recommendation of a new service authorisation framework under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. The Authority describes this as “a complete revamp of the existing licensing framework to a new authorisation framework,” completed after an intensive and time-bound consultation exercise.

The shift reflects an attempt to move away from rigid, service-specific licences towards a more flexible authorisation regime aligned with convergence across telecom, broadcasting, and satellite communications.

This was reinforced through consultations on network, broadcasting, and satellite service authorisations, reflecting an effort to harmonise regulatory treatment across access technologies rather than regulate them in silos. Infrastructure policy formed another key pillar.

During the year, TRAI issued recommendations on telecommunication infrastructure sharing, spectrum sharing, and spectrum leasing, alongside inputs on identifying additional frequency bands—including the 37–43.5 GHz range—for International Mobile Telecommunications. These measures were intended to improve spectrum efficiency and support faster network deployment in the 5G era.

TRAI also extended regulatory oversight into the built environment. With the notification of the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024, the Authority acknowledged that network quality increasingly depends on indoor digital infrastructure.

The framework aimed to “create an ecosystem for co-creation of Digital Connectivity Infrastructure as a part of any development activity,” effectively broadening responsibility for connectivity beyond service providers alone.

Consumer protection emerged as a parallel thrust. In August 2024, TRAI implemented “significant measures to curb the menace of spam calls,” tightening controls on SMS headers and content templates to address fraudulent and malicious communications—signalling a more assertive enforcement posture as digital usage deepens.

Execution Challenges to Define the Next Phase

Looking ahead to 2026, the contours of India’s telecom sector are becoming clearer.

With coverage largely achieved, the next phase will be shaped by how effectively networks are monetised, how authorisation-based regulation is implemented, and how emerging access models—from 5G FWA to satellite communications—are integrated into a unified policy framework.

TRAI’s emphasis on structured growth, flexible authorisations, and consumer protection suggests that regulation will increasingly focus on execution quality rather than expansion metrics.

As digital connectivity becomes “irreversible and an essential part of both the economy and society,” the sector’s success will depend less on scale and more on how resilient, secure, and adaptable India’s digital networks prove to be in a converging communications landscape.