Minister Scindia Advocates for Competition Over Duopoly in Telecom Sector

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stressed the importance of competition over duopoly in India's telecom sector, saying it ensures affordability and innovation. Addressing the Broadband India Forum, he highlighted the need for regulations to delicense the 6 gigahertz spectrum, crucial for expanding wifi and narrowing the digital divide.

Currently, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio dominate India's telecom industry, while Vodafone Idea struggles with debt, seeking aid from the Supreme Court, and state-owned BSNL lags in rolling out pan-India 4G and 5G services. Scindia promised satellite spectrum allocation and emphasized technology's role in reducing costs, citing India's low data prices.

The minister urged device manufacturers to produce affordable hardware to prevent new forms of digital divides, aiming to leverage technology's power in democratizing solutions for India's 1.4 billion citizens. He stressed the importance of offering every technology and opportunity to spur economic growth under Moore's Law.

(With inputs from agencies.)