India's 5G Network Growth and Telecom Sector Advancements: Economic Survey 2024 Highlights

India among world's fastest-growing 5G networks: Economic Survey 2024

India's 5G network is rapidly advancing, with its global mobile broadband speed ranking rising from 118 to 15 as of March 2024, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. To support this growth, the government will allocate 5% of Universal Services Obligation Fund collections for telecom R&D. India's teledensity has grown from 75.2% in March 2014 to 85.7% in March 2024, with wireless connections reaching 116.5 crore. India is amongst the fastest-growing 5G networks in the world, and post-the launch of 5G services, India's international rank on mobile broadband speeds has jumped from 118 to 15 in March 2024, the Economic Survey 2023-24 said Monday. It added that telecom technology development requires significantly large and patient capital for R&D and commercialisation. And to address this, the government has decided that an allocation of 5% of annual collections from the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) would be made available for funding R&D in the telecom sector, which is the gateway to fast-paced growth of digital services in India. The survey added that India's overall teledensity (number of telephones per 100 population) has increased from 75.2 % in March 2014 to 85.7 % in March 2024. The number of wireless telephone connections, in turn, stood at 116.5 crore as of end-March 2024."The Bharat 5G Portal propels India's 5G capabilities and fosters innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing within the telecom sector, Survey said. According to the Economic Survey 2023-24, India's total number of mobile towers stood at 8.02 lakh as of June 2024 while the number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) stood at 29.37 lakh while 5G BTSs were 4.5 lakh. "The government has also initiated a project for saturation of 4G mobile services with a total cost of Rs 26,316 crore in 24,680 uncovered villages in remote and difficult areas. 6,279 villages having only 2G/3G connectivity shall be upgraded to 4G." Economic Survey data also showed that the deployment of government capex in telecommunications increased 8.5% on-year to ₹59,400 crore in FY24. Services trade data collated by Economic Survey 2023-24 showed that overall exports from 'telecommunications, computer, and information services' increased around 7.41% to $163.6 billion in FY24 from $152.3 billion in FY23. Overall imports on this score, in turn, have risen a modest 5.5% to $20.9 billion during the same period. The latest Economic Survey underlined that over the medium term, India is focusing on integrating its value chain with that of the West, particularly in sectors like renewable energy and advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and next-generation telecommunications. Further, it noted that the country's internet subscribers jumped from 25.1 crore in March 2014 to 95.4 crore in March 2024, of whom 91.4 crore are accessing the internet via wireless phones.

Budget 2024: India is among fastest-growing 5G networks, says Economic Survey - Times of India

Ahead of the union budget 2024, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey in parliament today. According to the Economic Survey 2023-24, India is among the fastest-growing 5G networks in the world. After the launch of 5G services in October 2022, the country's ranking on mobile broadband speeds has improved from 118 to 15 in March 2024. The Survey added that India's overall teledensity (measured as number of telephones per 100 population) has increased from 75.2 % in March 2014 to 85.7 % in March 2024.According to it, the number of wireless telephone connections stood at 116.5 crore at the end of March 2024. "The Bharat 5G Portal propels India's 5G capabilities and fosters innovation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing within the telecom sector," the Survey said. Telecom technology development requires significantly large and patient capital for R&D and commercialisation. According to the survey, the government has decided to allocate 5% of annual collections from the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) to address the same. It has also created a Telecom Technology Development Fund in 2022 that has seen significant participation from start-ups, MSMEs, academia and industry. 8.02 lakh mobile towers in the country: Economic Survey As per the Economic Survey 2023-24, the total number of mobile towers in the country was 8.02 lakh as of June 2024. While the number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) stood at 29.37 lakh while 5G BTSs were 4.5 lakh. According to it, the internet subscribers in the country jumped from 25.1 crore in March 2014 to 95.4 crore in March 2024, of whom 91.4 crore are accessing the internet via wireless phones. "The internet density also increased to 68.2 per cent in March 2024 while the cost of data has declined substantially, vastly improving the average wireless data usage per subscriber," it said. The Survey further added that the amended BharatNet national broadband program is now being rolled out to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats in the country. "As of 31 March, 2024, 6,83,175 kilometers of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid, connecting a total of 2,06,709 Gram Panchayats (GPs) by OFC in the BharatNet phase I & II," it said. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.

Budget 2024: Government boosts telecom R&D & eyes 6G leadership, Eco Survey - Times of India

The Indian government has allocated 5% of the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) for telecommunications research and development, as revealed in the Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday, as reported by news agency PTI. This strategic move aims to bolster India's position in the global telecom sector and accelerate the development of future technologies. The USOF, recently rebranded as Digital Bharat Nidhi, boasts a substantial corpus of approximately Rs 80,000 crore.The allocation is expected to provide the much-needed capital for R&D and commercialization in the telecom sector. As reported by the PTI, the government launched the Bharat 6G Vision document in March 2023. This initiative was followed by the establishment of the Bharat 6G Mission and an apex council to oversee its implementation. The Bharat 6G Alliance, formed in July 2023, aims to position India as a leading global supplier of affordable 5G, 6G, and other advanced telecom solutions. The survey highlighted notable improvements in India's telecom infrastructure. The country's global ranking in mobile broadband speed has surged from 118th to 15th place as of March 2024. Overall teledensity has increased from 75.2% in March 2014 to 85.7% in March 2024, with wireless telephone connections reaching an impressive 116.5 crore. India's digital connectivity efforts have made significant strides through the BharatNet project. As per the survey, 6,83,175 kilometers of Optical Fibre Cable have been laid, connecting 2,06,709 gram panchayats in phases I and II. The Economic Survey also underscored India's growing prominence in service exports. The country now ranks second globally in telecommunication, computer, and information services exports, further cementing its position as a key player in the digital economy. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.