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India’s telecom sector is undergoing changes in subscriber verification, infrastructure investment and prepaid pricing. The Department of Telecommunications will enforce the existing SIM-card limit through a central system from August 24.
Meanwhile, Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust has filed documents for a public offering. Bharti Airtel has withdrawn several prepaid plans, while Reliance Jio reportedly plans to relaunch Prime membership.
The Department of Telecommunications has directed telecom operators to deny new connections to people already holding nine SIM cards. The limit includes connections registered across every operator and licensed service area in India.
Telecom providers must introduce technical and organisational checks from August 24, 2026. The circular states that ‘a new mobile connection cannot be provided’ after a subscriber reaches the permitted limit.
The ceiling falls to six connections in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North-East. The government introduced these limits in 2012. Therefore, the latest directive strengthens enforcement of an existing rule.
Operators will use the Digital Intelligence Platform to identify subscribers who have reached the limit. The DoT created the central platform using customer information submitted by telecom companies.
From August 23, operators can access a representative image of each subscriber who holds the maximum permitted connections. The image will help operators verify customers applying for another SIM card.
The DoT has given operators until November 30 to connect their verification systems with the platform. Until then, operators must suspend any connection activated beyond the limit. They can restore it after resolving the issue.
Brookfield-backed Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust filed draft offer documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India on August 6. The proposed offer includes a fresh issue worth Rs. 500 crore.
Existing investors also plan to sell up to 30.47 crore units through an offer for sale. Reports estimate that the entire transaction could raise about Rs. 6,000 crore.
Altius operates around 258,000 telecom sites and supports about 315,000 tenancies across India’s 22 telecom circles. Its portfolio includes ground towers, rooftop sites, small cells and indoor network systems.
These assets provide network space and related services to telecom operators. Rising data use and wider 5G coverage can increase demand for towers, equipment upgrades and additional tenancies.
Indian rules require infrastructure investment trusts to distribute at least 90% of their net distributable cash flow. Equirus Capital Managing Director Vijay Agrawal described telecom InvITs as ‘a more defensive, income-oriented way’ to access digital infrastructure.
Altius depends on a small group of telecom operators for much of its rental income. Payment delays, tenancy exits, higher borrowing costs or slower network expansion could affect its distributions.
Bharti Airtel has discontinued five prepaid plans offering 1.5 GB of daily data and unlimited calls. The withdrawn plans carried prices of Rs. 299, Rs. 319, Rs. 579, Rs. 619 and Rs. 649.
Customers using Airtel’s former Rs. 299 plan must now choose the Rs. 349 pack for a higher daily data allowance. The change increases the price by about 16%.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio reportedly plans to relaunch its Prime membership programme. The proposed offer would protect members from tariff or plan changes for one year.
The programme would reportedly carry a Rs. 300 joining fee and cover existing prepaid and postpaid customers. Jio had not formally confirmed the reported details.
Jio also reportedly plans to add digital benefits to its Rs. 299 prepaid pack. The proposed additions include JioHotstar, Google cloud storage and access to Google’s Gemini service.
