Rising cybersecurity concerns are emerging as a major bottleneck for India’s high-stakes digital economy goals.
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi, Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at GSMA, warned that widespread fears over cyber scams are forcing citizens to scale back their online activity.
A recent GSMA survey revealed that nearly 1 in 8 Indians (12%) fell victim to an online scam in the past year.
Crucially, 70% to 72% of respondents reported actively moderating their online behaviour out of fraud concerns. Gorman emphasised that establishing “digital trust” must be the telecom sector’s top priority to prevent this trust deficit from dampening digital adoption across consumers, businesses, and government services.
Addressing connectivity debates, Gorman clarified that incoming satellite communications will act as complementary infrastructure rather than replacing terrestrial networks, which already cover 98% of the Indian population.
With Asia-Pacific’s mobile market projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2030, industry leaders stress that building resilient security frameworks will be just as essential as expanding 5G and 6G infrastructure.
