According to Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, India would not experience a monopoly or duopoly in the telecom market as state-owned BSNL emerges as a’very steady’ participant.
Speaking at the Express Adda on Saturday, he allayed worries about a duopoly developing in the industry due to Vodafone Idea Ltd.’s deteriorating financial situation and declining market share.
“No, a monopoly is not what we are headed towards. There won’t be a duopoly either. When asked whether the situation of Vodafone Idea and the present financial difficulties experienced by Airtel will leave Reliance Jio the only dominating mobile telephony provider, he said, “BSNL is rising up as a very solid participant in the industry.
Three private companies presently compete in the telecom industry: Reliance Jio, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Ltd. Because of its innovative entrance, Jio has grown to be the nation’s biggest operator and is now in charge of the 5G deployment. Jio is being contested by Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel, while Vodafone Idea has yet to reveal its 5G deployment strategy because of financial strain.
State-owned BSNL, according to Vaishnaw, is operationally stabilizing.
“They have now begun to generate operational profits. It’s BSNL’s narrative of recovery,” the minister stated.
He said that the 4G and 5G stack being used by BSNL in India is a step forward from comparable technologies used elsewhere.
Vaishnaw said that the market will determine whether there would be four successful players or three successful players and one unsuccessful player.
The minister predicted that if the appropriate environment is created, India would overtake the United States as the leading location for semiconductor manufacture in the next five years.
A plan of Rs 76,000 crore was unveiled by the government in December 2021 to entice semiconductor and display fab manufacturers to the nation.
If the necessary environment is in place, India will undoubtedly overtake China as the world’s leading location for semiconductor manufacture in the next four to five years. Our main concern is ensuring that the proper ecology is created, the speaker stated.
He said that a stable power supply and the accessibility of specialized raw materials are two of the difficulties faced by the semiconductor manufacturing industry. People naturally have an inclination to wait and observe when we are developing a new sector, he added.
