www.WirelessFederation.com/news: According to the Indian Government, at the pace with which the Indian telecoms market is growing, the target of 500 million fixed and mobile phone connections by 2010 seems to be taking shape.
India’s Economic Survey for the year 2008-09, released ahead of the budget, unveiled strong growth in the telecom sector with the country counting a total of 414 million fixed and mobile connections as of February 2009.

Teledensity rose from 12.7% in March 2006 to 35.65% in February 2009, after government reduced the barriers to entry and created a level playing field between new entrants and incumbents. The country’s rural regions are also experiencing strong growth, with the number of rural lines increasing from 12.3 million in March 2004 to 112.71 million in January 2009. Rural teledensity reached 13.81 per cent over the same period.

The survey has further suggested that the 2G and 3G spectrum should be freely tradeable rather than following current legislation which prevents the purchase and sale of spectrum.