Your efforts to liberalize your telecommuncation market started back in 1991. You are enjoying the growth of mobile phone subscribers from 76,000 in 1995 to 1.2 million in 1998. The growth of Internet hosts increased from 500 in 1993, to 6,600 in 1995 and to more than 100,000 in July 1999. But, the good news is that these gaps are narrowing. During the 1990s, the teledensity of the region rose from below 0.6 lines per 100 inhabitants in 1990 to 2.2 lines in 1998.
Telecommunications is a reflection of economic activity.
In order to remedy the telecommunications gap, it is necessary to address the economic gap in living standards between regions. However, the telecommunications revolution offers new hope to the developing countries. The recipe for success, which has worked so well in developed countries, can also work in developing countries, and here in India, too. In industrialised countries, demand for telecommunication services always exceeded supply until the day came when the telephone penetrated into every home. This is because the telephone was such a useful tool that everyone was willing to pay for it.