7 months ago
Village Public Phones Disappear as Mobiles Take Over
For a long time, villages in India had public phones that everyone could use.
These were important because not everyone had their own phone.
But now, almost everyone has a mobile phone, so these public phones are no longer needed.
The government has stopped maintaining them.
There are now over 1 billion mobile connections in India, with more than half in rural areas.
This shows how much things have changed.
People find it more convenient to use their own phones than to go to a public phone booth.
The money that used to support public phones is now being used to improve mobile and internet services.
This is a big change from the past, but there are still some places where mobile signals are weak, so there is more work to do.
Village Public Telephones (VPTs) have been completely phased out in 2025, with connections dropping to zero from 68,606 in 2024.
The decline in VPTs reflects a shift towards personal mobile phone usage in rural India, with mobile connections reaching 1173.88 million nationwide.
Rural areas now account for 532.06 million mobile connections, or 43.93% of total connections, indicating significant growth in rural tele-density.
The Universal Service Obligation Fund, which previously supported VPTs, has been restructured to focus on mobile networks and broadband expansion.
The disappearance of VPTs highlights the success of India's mobile revolution, though challenges remain in ensuring quality and coverage in remote areas.
- Who
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Department of Telecommunications
- What
- The discontinuation of Village Public Telephones (VPTs) in India
- Where
- Rural India
- When
- 2025
- Why
- Due to the widespread adoption of mobile phones and the decline in the use of public telephones
Key facts
- VPT connections in 2025
- 0
- VPT connections in 2024
- 68,606
- Mobile connections in India (2025)
- 1173.88 million
- Rural mobile connections (2025)
- 532.06 million
- Urban mobile connections (2025)
- 641.83 million
- Total broadband users in India (Nov 2025)
- 1.004 billion
- Mobile broadband subscribers (Nov 2025)
- 958.54 million
- Wireline users (Nov 2025)
- 45.11 million
- Total Internet subscriptions (Sep 2025)
- 1,017.81 million
- Overall tele-density (2025)
- 86.77%
- Urban tele-density (2025)
- 135.39%
- Rural tele-density (2025)
- 59.50%
- Rural subscribers' share (2025)
- 43.93%
Quotes
Varun Mishra
Senior analyst at Counterpoint Research
“There is a rise in tele-density in the rural areas. India has one of the cheapest data and calling rates globally. Further, owning a handset has also become easier due to EMIs. Owning a handset is much more convenient than going to a public telephone.”
financialexpress.com
“BSNL has also been pivoting away from traditional landlines, as the usage has been declining and focusing on fibre and 4G. These provide higher revenue opportunities as well.”
financialexpress.com





