The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) shared an image on X showing a news clipping from a news article about the first-ever mobile phone call made in India in 1995. They noted, “The First mobile call in India was made in 1995, and now the country has 1.2 billion mobile users.” 

On July 31, 1995, something innovative was done in the Department of Telecommunication that changed the way we communicate forever, starting a new era in how we connect in India.  

What was so special on July 31, 1995? 

The very first phone call using mobile phones took place when the phones were bulky and had big number keys, which appear archaic today but were stylish back in 1995.  

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu called Union Communications Minister Sukh Ram. The first mobile call in India was made with Nokia handsets. The network used for the call was Modi Telstra’s Mobile Net service, a joint venture between India’s B.K. Modi Group and Australia’s Telstra.  

A look back on the First Nokia Handset call in India 

The Nokia handset call was made between two locations: Calcutta (now Kolkata) and New Delhi. More specifically, it happened in the Writer’s Building in Calcutta and in Delhi’s Sanchar Bhavan. 

According to some reports from the past, the initial phone call rates were Rs 8.4 per minute for both outgoing and incoming calls. During peak mobile phone traffic hours, the cost would increase to Rs 16.8 per minute.  

After premiering in 1995, the Modi-Telstra JV network operator, which later became Spice, found that establishing the network was very expensive, even after they estimated that their services would reach at least 10 lakh people in the near future. 

The rise of mobile phone users in India 

In the last thirty years, there has been significant growth in mobile users in India. Now, the majority of the population uses smartphones that can access the internet, make video calls, and share multimedia.  

How Reliance Jio revolutionized telecommunications in India 

In today’s time, India ranks as the second-largest country for mobile users, right after China. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio played a significant role in popularizing the trend of “free calls and internet” service culture in the country. 

Jio’s arrival in the telecom industry with low and cheap rates led other telecommunication companies to quickly follow and do the same. Since then, making calls (local and STD) and using mobile internet have become quite affordable and cheap.

Additionally, there are many affordable smartphones and smart feature phones available in the Indian market that you can easily access.