Breaking Telecom Duopoly: Scindia's Call for Competition

Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stressed the importance of fostering competition in India's telecom sector, arguing against a duopoly during an event at the Broadband India Forum. He pointed to the current market dominance by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio as a cause for concern, emphasizing the need for regulatory measures to ensure a fair playing field.

Ahead of India's August 15 deadline, Scindia announced potential implementations for delicensing the 6 gigahertz spectrum. This move aims to enhance WiFi services and address the digital divide. He also pointed out that debt-ridden Vodafone Idea may struggle to survive, while state-run BSNL is yet to offer 4G and 5G services nationwide.

Scindia reiterated that the government remains neutral regarding specific companies or technologies, focusing instead on customer-centric policies. He advocated for the principles of Moore's Law within telecom economics, stressing the importance of making technology accessible to India's 1.4 billion citizens and highlighting the drastic reduction in mobile data costs over time.

(With inputs from agencies.)