Indian Telecom Sector is one of the rapidly growing industries in the world and has also developed the second largest communication network. The growth in this sector is much higher than that in the agricultural or the manufacturing sectors. Services, which is the fastest growing sector in India has led to the simultaneous growth in GDP, & employment generation. The telecom services have been recognized world wide as an important tool for socio- economic development of a nation. Thus, the telecom industry infrastructure is being treated as a crucial factor to realize the socio-economic objectives in India. The Indian Telecom sector has evolved tremendously since the liberalization starting with New Telecom Policy (1999).
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been the pioneer in the telecom market of India. The Indian telecommunication policies have been modified to introduce more private telecom players in the market. Several private companies as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Aircel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular joined the Indian market.

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was given separate authority for running the telephone services in the country. The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)initiated its services in the year 1985 for carrying out the telephone operations in the metro cities  of India, like  Delhi and Mumbai .

Indian Telecom Sector Policies

• A Communication Convergence Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2001.
• Unrestricted entry is allowed in National Long Distance Service (NLD)
• Also the International Long Distance Services (ILDS) have been kept opened.
• Cellular operators have the permission of providing all types of service, as voice and non voice messages, data services etc.
• The New Telecom Policy revised in 1999 encourages participation of private companies in services as Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) Service, digital Public Mobile Trunked Service (PMRTS) and Voice Mail/ Audiotex/ Unified Messaging Services.
• To fulfill Universal Service Obligation (USO) funding and administration, several measures are being taken.
• To initiate Community Phone Service, an announcement has been made.
• Guidelines regarding the Multiple Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) have been announced.
• For establishing International Internet Gateways, which include both Satellite and Landing Stations, the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been permitted.
• The Government of India also has set up various guidelines to establish Internet telephony (IP).

Indian Telecom Sector - Major Mobile Phone Service Provider Companies in India [Updated in 2017] The major mobile service provider companies in india are
BSNL: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, country’s largest cellular service operator was Established  in the year 2000. It is a state owned telecom company with its headquarters located in New Delhi. BSNL is also the largest land line telephone establishment in India.  And  As of April, 2011 87.1 million users have been reported to be BSNL users.
MTNL: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was Established  up in the year 1985, to run telecom operations in the major metro cities of India, like Mumbai and Delhi. Its headquarters are located in Mumbai. MTNL was the first company in India to initiate 3G services in India, having the brand name of “MTNL 3G Jadoo Services” which provided options as Video call, Mobile TV, Mobile Broadband etc to the customers.
Airtel:  It is Also known as Bharti Airtel Limited was started in July 1995, with its head office based in New Delhi. Airtel runs its operations in as many as 19 countries across the world and is also ranked fifth as telecom service provider globally. As of April 2011, figures show that Airtel has over 164.61 million users which make it the biggest mobile service operator in India. Its service includes both 2G and 3G facilities.
Reliance communications: Also known as RCOM was Established in 2004, with its head office in Navi Mumbai. Reliance Communications as of now has more than 128 million users all across the world.
Aircel: Aircel was founded in 1999, with its head office in New Delhi. It is a joint enterprise between Maxis Communications and the Apollo Hospitals .
Vodafone: Vodafone Essar was founded in 1994 with its head office at  Mumbai. Vodafone provides services to 23 telecom circles across India.
Tata indicom: The Tata Teleservices was founded in 1996, and the headquarters located at  Navi Mumbai .
Idea cellular: Idea Cellular was started in 1995, and its head office is located in Mumbai. It also provides 3G services to its subscribers.
Virgin mobile : Virgin Mobile started its services in India in 2008, March. It is a U.K. based company .
Uninor: This Company is a joint venture between Telenor  Group and Unitech Group and was started in 2009 .