The reforms in the telecom sector are likely to infuse liquidity and create an enabling environment for investment into 5G networks and boost 4G proliferation, the Survey said.

In the wake of "outstanding performance" of the sector in meeting Covid-19 challenges and with a huge surge in data consumption because of online education and work from home, the reform measures will bolster proliferation and penetration of broadband and telecom connectivity.

In addition to telecom infrastructure expansion, a slew of measures have been taken to bring about reforms, the survey said, outlining the structural and procedural reforms undertaken in the sector that represent the world's second-largest market.

A strong and responsive regulatory framework has kept service access at reasonable prices, with the government taking further measures to ensure fair competition among service providers with the view to benefit the consumers.

Telecom is among the most powerful sectors impacting the social and economic development of a country, the survey said observing that the relevance of the sector has “increased immensely”.

The same is reflected in key performance metrics, such as growth in total telephone subscriber base, steady increase in internet subscribers, and broadband connections.

In the last few years, the telecom sector in India has become data-driven as costs have fallen because of fierce competition in the sector.

Data deluge

A case in point is the average wireless data usage. The amount (GB) consumed per data user in a month has increased “tremendously” to a whopping 14.1GB in the first quarter of the current fiscal from just 1.24GB per month in the first quarter of 2017-18.