India is stepping up its telecom infrastructure push to reach thousands of villages that still lack adequate mobile connectivity, while encouraging operators to share infrastructure to bring down the cost
of expanding networks.
Speaking at India Mobile Congress 2026 during a panel on scaling the next billion digital connections, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Communications & Development of North Eastern Region said the government is investing heavily in rural telecom infrastructure and wants greater sharing of networks between operators.
The government is spending around ₹12,000–15,000 crore on telecom towers in areas that still have poor or no mobile coverage. The programme covers around 35,000 villages where connectivity remains a challenge.
Scindia said around 26,000 additional towers are required as India moves towards complete mobile coverage, including difficult and remote areas such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
The effort is part of a broader push to ensure that India’s digital growth does not remain concentrated in cities and well-connected regions.
India Wants Telecom Companies To Share More Infrastructure
A major part of the government’s strategy is infrastructure sharing. Instead of every telecom operator building separate towers and other network infrastructure in the same areas, the government wants operators to make greater use of shared infrastructure. Scindia said this approach can significantly reduce the cost of expanding networks.
According to the minister, infrastructure sharing has already helped reduce capital expenditure by around 25% and operating expenditure by about 33%.
That could become increasingly important as telecom companies expand networks into rural and geographically difficult areas, where the cost of serving each additional customer can be considerably higher.
The government is also opening up more of its fibre infrastructure to telecom operators. Under the expanded BharatNet programme, the government is building what Scindia described as a “digital highway”, while private companies can use that infrastructure to deliver services to consumers.
The model is designed to separate the cost of building basic connectivity infrastructure from the cost of delivering commercial services over it.
BharatNet Is Being Used As The Digital Backbone
The amended BharatNet programme is another key part of the strategy. The government is building middle-mile connectivity from districts to blocks and then extending it towards Gram Panchayats. Private-sector companies can then take connectivity further towards homes, businesses and other users.
This approach is intended to make rural broadband expansion faster while reducing the amount of infrastructure that each private operator needs to build independently.
For India, the challenge is no longer simply getting a mobile signal to more people. It is also about ensuring that rural users have access to the fibre, towers and backhaul needed for reliable and affordable digital services.
That infrastructure will become even more important as AI services, cloud applications and other data-heavy technologies become part of everyday life.
