The government said that communication costs in India is one of the lowest in the world, attributing this to policy measures and a robust regulatory framework. In a written reply to three questions in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said that telecom policies and TRAI’s (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) regulatory interventions have resulted in one of the lowest costs for subscribers of mobile services in India.
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"The policies of the Government and regulatory framework notified by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has resulted into one of the lowest costs for subscribers of mobile services in India," the Minister of State for Communications said on Thursday, December 18, 2025, in response to a question on how the country’s communication costs compare with those of developed and developing nations.
Comparative Analysis Shows India’s Advantage
Citing data published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2024, the minister said that a comparative analysis of mobile service pricing—covering a basket of 140 minutes of voice calls, 70 SMS and 2 GB of data—shows India among the lowest-cost markets when compared with neighbouring and other countries. The detailed comparison, as provided in the Annexure, is given below:
Market-Driven Pricing for Telecom Services
The minister noted that under the provisions of the TRAI Act, 1997, TRAI functions as an independent regulator responsible for regulating telecom tariffs in the country. Under the existing framework, tariffs for telecommunication services are under forbearance, allowing market-driven pricing.
However, tariffs for select services—such as national roaming, rural fixed-line services, mobile number portability charges, leased circuits and USSD services—continue to be regulated, he said.
The minister was replying to questions on the extent to which low-cost data and broadband growth in the country would help make India the data capital of the world in the next four to five years, and the advantages India would gain from becoming the data capital of the world.
Telecom Providers Have Pricing Flexibility
Telecom service providers are free to design and offer tariff plans based on market conditions and commercial considerations, subject to compliance with regulatory norms. Pricing decisions take into account factors such as input costs, competition levels and service-area requirements, the minister noted.
"Subject to compliance with extant regulatory provisions, service providers are free to design and offer tariffs based on their understanding of the market situation and in their best commercial interest. Service providers have the flexibility to decide various tariff components like the rates for different types of calls, SMS, data offers etc. with multiple combinations including recharge value and validity for different service areas of their operation. Tariffs are offered by service providers taking into account several factors, including input costs, level of competition and other commercial considerations," the Minister replied.
