‘1GB data today costs less than a cup of tea’: PM Modi at India Mobile Congress

Modi jokingly added that he has a habit of mentioning ‘tea’ in his addresses, referring to his life journey from that of a tea-seller to a Prime Minister.

“When I initially spoke about ‘Make-in-India’, many people made fun of it. People who lived in doubt questioned ‘how can India make technologically advanced equipment?’ Because under their rule, it took them many decades to bring new technology to India. But India gave a befitting response to them,” the Prime Minister said in a veiled jibe at the Opposition, adding that this is the best time to invest and innovate in India.

Modi said an India that struggled with bringing in a 2G network now has 5G in almost every district, and that the IMC’s success story has been written and driven by India’s tax saving mindset. He also highlighted that electronics production has grown six-fold since 2014, mobile phone manufacturing by 28 times, and exports have increased 127 times, with many global companies looking for trusted partners with India in electronics manufacturing.

“The world is also looking for trusted telecom network equipment partners, so can’t India become reliable global suppliers and design partners for them?” the PM asked the forum.

In the days leading up to the event, the PM announced a fully indigenous 4G stack, along with the launch of over 97,500 mobile 4G towers, including 92,600 4G technology sites built with a software stack upgradable to 5G. India has now become the fifth country, after Denmark, Sweden, South Korea and China, to have a home-grown telecom technology stack.

The communications ministry also unveiled India’s 100% 4G saturation network, comprising 18,903 towers, through Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), connecting 29,000-30,000 villages in a mission-mode project to ensure no area remains digitally isolated.

“Many countries are surprised that we have almost 1 lakh towers,” the PM said, adding that the 4G stack is “export-ready”. Modi said that as the technological revolution happened, India addressed it through policy changes, such as bringing in the Telecommunications Act to replace the India Telegraph Act and the India Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Union minister of communications Jyotiraditya Scindia in his inaugural address highlighted that India has come a long way from being a technology taker and a technology follower, to now the digital flagbearer of the world.

“Our mobile data cost has fallen in the last 11 years by 98%. There was a time when a single minute of voice was a luxury. But today India is home to 20% of the world’s mobile population with 1.2 billion subscribers. We have grown from 60 million broadband internet users in 2014 under PM’s vision to 944 million broadband subscribers today,” Scindia said.

One GB of data cost ₹287 in 2014, but today it costs ₹9, the minister said, adding that “the scale is on India’s side”, as 20 countries are today looking to adopt India’s telecom model.

Scindia also inaugurated the 2nd International 6G Bharat Symposium, a key forum for international collaboration on future telecom technologies. Building on the 2024 edition that convened major global 6G programmes, the Bharat 6G Alliance signed two MoUs with NASSCOM and European Space Agency for research and innovation in 6G.

The ninth edition, organised by the Department of Telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of India, adopts the theme ‘Innovate to Transform’, emphasising innovation as the engine for India’s digital ambitions and self-reliant future.

Over the next three days, the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre will be brimming with almost 150,000 visitors, 7,000 delegates, and see participation from 150 countries. Around 400 exhibitors are expected to showcase their products and services. The IMC will also witness six major events, namely International Bharat 6G Symposium, International AI Summit, Cybersecurity Summit, Satcom Summit, IMC Aspire Programme, and Global Startup World Cup India.