Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India’s telecom sector has evolved beyond networks, spectrum and internet speeds with mobile connectivity emerging as a key enabler of governance and access to public services.
And today, we are all seeing that 5G connectivity has reached every district of the country. Addressing the 10th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 here, PM Modi said mobile phones had transformed over the past decade from conventional communication devices into important tools for delivering governance. Recalling the evolution of IMC, PM Modi said the event had played an important role in India’s telecom journey, from the launch of 5G in 2022 to the country’s hosting of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2024. “In 2022, it was from this very platform that we launched 5G in the country. Then, in 2023, I spoke about how India was moving from 5G rollout towards 5G reach-out. Today, there are more than 5.5 lakh base stations in India, from where 5G networks are operating. And mobile internet speed is 10 times higher compared to 2022,” the Prime Minister said.
“Mobile phone has become a tool of good governance,” he said.
“A decade back, the digital divide was a challenge.
New technology was becoming a privilege,” PM Modi said and added that the government sought to address this through the Digital India programme by placing the mobile phone at the centre of expanding digital access and public services.
