TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA
ü The Indian telecommunication industry is the third largest in the world
ü It is the second largest in terms of wireless connections
ü India is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world
ü Tele-density in India is around 45%
ü In Sep 2009, Government announced the availability of Mobile Number Portability from Dec 2009. MNP would allow users to retain their phone number even if they changed service providers
History of telecommunications in India
ü Telegraph facilities in India were first introduced between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850
ü In 1953, work was started on telegraph lines connecting Calcutta, Agra, Peshawar, Bombay and Madras
ü The first Telegraph Act was enacted in 1854
ü Telegraph facilities were opened to the public in 1855
ü The first telephone exchange in India was opened in Calcutta in Jan 1882. Exchanges were also established in Bombay and Madras in the same year
ü The pioneer of telegraph and telephones in India was Dr. William O’Shaugnessy from the Calcutta Medical College
ü Telecommunications in India today is governed by the Indian Telegraph Act 1885
Further development of telecommunications
ü 1902: first wireless telegraph between Saugor Islands and Sandheads (West Bengal)
ü 1913-1914: first automatic telephone exchange established in Simla
ü 1927: first radio telegraph system between India and UK with beam stations at Khadki and Daund (Maharashtra)
ü 1960: first subscriber trunk dialing (STD) introduced between Kanpur and Lucknow
ü 1979: first optical fibre system commissioned at Pune
ü 1980: first satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
ü 1985: first mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis in Delhi
GOVERNMENT ENTITIES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS
1. Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
1. TRAI is an independent regulator established in 1997 to regulate the communications sector in India
2. It consists of a Chairperson and two members
3. Objectives of TRAI include
1. To provide policies on communications in India
2. Manage licenses for telecommunications
3. Efficiently manage available spectrum
4. Ensure compliance with provisions
2. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
1. It is government-owned service provider operating in New Delhi, Bombay, Thane
2. It was established in 1986
3. Headquarters in New Delhi
4. MTNL launched India’s first 3G mobile services in 2008
5. In 2004, MTNL established a fully owned subsidiary Mahanagar Telephones Mauritius Limited (MTML) for providing basic, mobile and long-distance operations in Mauritius
6. MTNL functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
3. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL)
1. Established in 1986
2. It is India’s largest telecommunications company in long-distance, enterprise data and internet services
3. Headquarters in Bombay
4. It has the world’s largest network of submarine cables, by means of its subsidiary Tyco Global Network
5. VSNL was renamed as Tata Communications in 2008
4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
1. Established in 2000 by corporatization of the commercial services of the Department of Telecom
2. Headquarters in New Delhi
3. It is India’s oldest and largest communications service provider
4. It operates in every major city except Bombay and New Delhi, which are run by the MTNL
5. Functions under the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
IMPORTANT PLAYERS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN INDIA
Company | Headquarters | Key people | Notes |
Bharti Airtel | New Delhi | Sunil Mittal | Largest mobile phone company in India |
Reliance communications | Bombay | Anil Ambani | Largest optical fibre network in India |
Vodafone Essar | Bombay (Global HQ: London) | Marten Pieters | Vodafone is the largest mobile phone company in the world |
BSNL | New Delhi | Kuldeep Goyal | India’s largest telecommunications company |
Idea Cellular | Bombay | Kumar Mangalam Birla | |
Tata Teleservices | Bombay | Ratan Tata | Tata Indicom, Tata Docomo (with NTT Docomo of Japan) and Virgin Mobile (Virgin Group, UK) |
Aircel | Madras | Gurdeep Singh | Venture between Maxis Communications (Malaysia) and Apollo Hospitals |
MTNL | New Delhi | RSP Sinha | |
Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile) | Bombay | Sandip Basu | |
Sistema Shyam | New Delhi | Vsevolod Rosanov Vitaly Savelyev | Venture between Sistema (Russia) and Shyam Telelink |