India’s mobile revolution started with one symbolic call on this day 20 years ago when the then West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu made the first mobile call to Sukh Ram, the then Union communications minister, on July 31, 1995 on B K Modi’s erstwhile Modi Telstra NW partnered with a sceptical Nokia to accomplish the impossible. Since then, India has emerged as the world’s second-largest telecom market by subscribers and remains among the fastest growing in the world. Barring basic commodities, no other product or service has a base of a billion consumers.

1. 20 years of the mobile phone in India: One call that started
it all
India’s mobile revolution started with one symbolic call on this day 20 years ago when the then
West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu made the first mobile call to Sukh Ram, the then Union
communications minister, on July 31, 1995 on B K Modi’s erstwhile Modi Telstra NW
partnered with a sceptical Nokia to accomplish the impossible. Since then, India has emerged as
the world’s second-largest telecom market by subscribers and remains among the fastest growing
in the world. Barring basic commodities, no other product or service has a base of a billion
consumers.
The same indomitable spirit that established India’s first mobile network became the very DNA
of the telecom industry. Operator after operator, through court rulings and scandals, overcoming
infrastructure bottlenecks and technology upheavals, the Indian telecom sector, like a Bollywood
potboiler, has seen it all.
In a highly regulated environment, India has the highest number of mobile players in any service
area in each of the country’s 22 telecom circles. Such intense competition has helped Indian
users enjoy some of the world’s lowest tariffs. To top it all, a massive spectrum crunch and
myriad problems in the deployment of telecom infrastructure couldn’t curb this growth impetus.
It has survived despite several roadblocks. In fact, it is because of the people — the subscribers
— that this industry has not only survived but actually thrived.
Today, two of the biggest development schemes of the government, Digital India and Smart
Cities, rely on wireless telecommunications to bear the fruits of a connected society. Moreover,
the other two government programmes, Skill India and Make in India, are predominantly relying
on the power of telecom and technology. Had it not been for the mobile revolution, India’s
buzzing startup scene wouldn’t have been half as vibrant as it is today.
It is hard to predict how the next 20 years will look like for telecommunications. Fourth-
generation wireless technology is yet to take off in a big way in India. And yet, we are already
talking about the arrival of fifth generation wireless tech. Surely, technological innovations will
change the way we interact. In an ‘appified’ world, it seems that there will be an app for every
need.
The uneasy relationship between telecom and tech will continue as governments and civil society
debate raging issues like net neutrality. However, what might not change is the quest for
achieving the impossible and dreaming to change the world. A home-grown Google, Facebook,
Uber or Xiaomi is a distinct possibility. And we may not even have to wait 20 years.