Abstract

The telecom sector of India has witnessed fast and steady growth in the last few years. When the number of telephone users is taken as the factor, the Indian telecommunication network is the second largest in the world. In July 2012 the number of telephone subscribers in India was approximately 944.81 million. It has grown at a phenomenal pace with 1,172 million subscribers in July 2022, with both urban and rural telephone subscriptions experiencing growth making the Indian Telecommunication sector one of the fastest growing in the world. The telecom sector plays an important role in the socio-economic development of a country and the initiatives taken up by the Indian Government to make India digitally advanced have played a major role in the growth of the sector. An increase in domestic demand, liberalization and globalization, policy initiatives and policy amendments, increasing investments, regulatory reforms, and increasing competition are other factors influencing the telecom sector. This paper tries to analyze the role of major policies and regulations, and the changes they have brought to the telecom sector changing it into a more competitive market from a monopolistic market. The establishment of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 1997 and the introduction of policies like the National Telecom Policy of 1992 and many more over the years helped regulate and sustain the competitive nature of the industry. The paper examines each policy and the impact it has on the growth of the Indian Telecommunication Sector.

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