7 months ago

Village Public Phones Disappear as Mobiles Take Over

Village Public Phones Disappear as Mobiles Take Over
Village public phones switch off as mobiles take over · financialexpress.com

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.

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

Sources

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