India Mobile Congress 2025: SATCOM, AGR relief, and 5G use cases take centre stage

The India Mobile Congress 2025 in New Delhi has brought together top names from the telecom and electronics industry, with Satellite Communications (SATCOM), AGR relief, and 5G use cases dominating discussions.Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia pledged a rapid rollout of SATCOM services in India, signalling the government’s commitment to keeping pace with global developments.Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of Telecom, said, “I think we are laying the complete substrate for the SATCOM in terms of appropriate rules, the regulatory framework, pricing which will essentially unleash that sector. So just wait and watch. Lot of it is in the industry’s hands, part of it is in our hands. Both of us are working together.”

While the promise of SATCOM has been welcomed, opinions differ on its impact. Andres Vicente, CEO of South East Asia, Oceania & India at Ericsson, noted, “When you come to dense areas like urban, today’s satellite cannot compete with the quality of terrestrial networks.” Purushothaman KG, Partner & Sector Head of Telecom at KPMG, said, “To reach the right backhaul connectivity, satellite communication is the need of the hour.”The government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are expected to play a critical role in determining whether spectrum for satellite operators is auctioned or allocated. TRAI has recommended allocation, which has raised concerns among conventional telecom players. Vivek Badrinath, Board Member of GSMA, emphasised, “We are very clear on this. Same service, same rules, a level playing field. We use spectrum for the benefit of billions.”Another key focus at the event has been the government’s support for AGR relief to Vodafone Idea, which is expected to unlock pending funding and boost network deployment. Arshad Fakhri, President of Prose Technologies, said, “There were some funding roadblocks with another operator and some funds have been released. So, they are also going to deploy. I mean they have a backlog to cover. So, there will be an increased activity going forward.”With 5G networks now operational, the hunt for practical use cases continues, especially in private telecom networks and AI applications. Ankit Dixit, CEO of Tidal Wave Technologies, said, “We have been very authentic about the value proposition out there. So larger players, mid-sized players being authentic and saying as it is, is helping us win confidence of the end user and the partner ecosystem.”Savi Soin, President of Qualcomm India, added, “Everybody wants to have a discussion about AI, but AI is not just one use case. My wife was asking me, what is AI? And I was telling her think of AI as a garam masala. It goes in every dish, right? So you can think about how we are enhancing the picture you take through AI. It is all in the background. We can ask a question and get a response.”The discussions at IMC 2025 on SATCOM rollout, AGR relief, and 5G innovations reflect the questions and priorities shaping India’s telecom sector in the years ahead.

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