The article provides a practical overview of India’s telecoms, media and internet sectors, covering market scale, key participants and the principal regulators. It explains the shift from the legacy licensing framework under the Telegraph Act to the authorisation-based regime under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. It also examines right-of-way, interconnection, broadband quality, numbering, portability and spectrum allocation. The article then addresses cybersecurity, lawful interception, encryption and data-retention obligations, including under CERT-In and telecom-specific cyber security rules. For media and internet businesses, it reviews content regulation across television, cinema, radio and digital platforms, as well as intermediary safe harbour, content blocking, IP-related takedowns and net neutrality. It concludes by identifying regulatory change, technology convergence and AI-driven content as key issues.

This article was originally published in ICLJ on 15 December 2025 Co-written by: Ranjana Adhikari, Partner; Shashank Mishra, Partner; Sarthak Doshi, Principal Associate; Principal Associate. Click here for original article

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