Communication infrastructure of India
The Communication Industry in India is one of the rapidly emerging sectors in India. The growth in communication industry is triggered by an increase in the revenues generated from both landline and mobile facilities.
Telecommunication is the transmission of messages over distances for the purpose of communication. Telecommunications play an important role in the world economy and the worldwide telecommunication industry’s revenue.
Modern telecommunication systems are quite capable of transmitting large volume of information over long distances through telephone, fax, radio, television etc. India is the fourth largest telecom market in Asia after China, Japan and South Korea.
of total internet users. Further, India is also the world’s second largest telecommunications market with 1,197.87 million subscribers, as of December 2018. Moreover, in 2017, India surpassed USA to become the second largest market in terms of number of app downloads. The country remained as the world’s fastest growing market for Google Play downloads in the second and third quarter of 2018. Over the next five years, rise in mobile-phone penetration and decline in data costs will add 500 million new internet users in India, creating opportunities for new businesses.
E-communication is a modern system of communication though an electronic medium. E-commerce denotes electronic transmission of information. Conducting business electronically is an important area for growth of IT systems.
The modern communication technological infrastructure includes the following:
Electronic mail
E-mail is a mode to transmit the message from one person to another through computerized channels.
Facsimile (fax)
It is equipment that transmits a digitized exact image of a document over telephone lines.
Voice mail
Voice mail is similar to an answering machine. In that it permits a caller to leave a voice message in a voice mailbox.
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing involves the use of computers, television cameras, and communications software and equipment. This equipment makes it possible to conduct electronic meetings while the participants are at different locations.
Internet
The Internet is a recent evolving global network of computer networks that facilitates access to information on thousands of topics. The Internet is utilized by millions of people daily.
Telecommunications is not a new concept. It began in the mid- 1800s with the invention telegraph, whereby sounds were translated manually into words; then the telephone, developed in 1876, transmitted voices; and then the teletypewriter, developed in the early 1900s, was able to transmit the written word.
It provides business, money and market stability in the world. Development in telecommunication provides helpful research and foundation for other technologies. This has helped tremendously with such things as war, weather problems, geographic problems, illness and health, and trade.
Telecommunications is of utmost importance for achievement of the country’s social and economic goals. India has tenth largest telecom network in the world measured in terms of number of phones.
The Government of India recognizes that provision of world-class telecommunications infrastructure and information is the key to rapid economic and social development of the country.
It is critical not only for the development of the Information Technology industry, but also has widespread ramifications (consequences) on the entire economy of the country.
It is of vital importance to the country that there be a comprehensive and forward looking telecommunications policy which creates an enabling framework for development of this industry.
Advancement in information and communication technologies (ICT) has demonstrated opportunities to the people to utilize it in their socioeconomic and cultural development in a better and more sophisticated way. Rural telecommunication has been an important area on which the government has been giving sustained emphasis.
The reforms undertaken in the telecommunication sector since 1991 has resulted in unprecedented growth of the telecommunication in India. India is mobile telephony. It was in 1995 introduced in India and just after 3 years, the user capacity was around one-lakh cell phone users in four metro cities.