Bharti Airtel managing director and GSMA chairman Gopal Vittal on Wednesday urged the creation of a new global framework to safeguard trust and security in the digital era, warning that the next challenge lies beyond connectivity. Speaking at the Indian Mobile Congress 2025, Vittal said that while India had achieved near-universal network access, the country now faced growing threats from cybercrime and digital fraud.
“Connectivity today is like a fundamental right,” Vittal said. “If it’s taken away, the impact is catastrophic, from banking and aviation to payments. But beyond connectivity, the real questions are about trust, security, and inclusion.” He cited the example of a retired citizen who lost his life savings to an online scam, calling such incidents a reflection of eroding public confidence. “Globally, over a trillion dollars is lost every year to digital fraud. Trust is a fundamental issue,” he added.
Vittal said that Airtel had blocked over 48 billion spam messages and 350,000 fraudulent links since launching its spam detection initiative but admitted that individual companies could not fight this battle alone. He called for the creation of new international institutions, including a fraud bureau, to collectively address online scams and security threats.
“The entire ecosystem must come together,” he said. “Technology is evolving faster than regulation. Regulators continue to focus narrowly on telecom, while the bigger trust and security challenges lie across the broader digital landscape.” Vittal urged that regulation evolve in step with emerging risks, pointing out that the telecom sector faces heavy oversight while much of the digital economy remains largely unregulated, “like the wild west,” as he put it.
Responding to his remarks, minister of state for communications and rural development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said the government was working on balanced policies that protect users while promoting innovation. He noted that efforts in AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, and 6G were all advancing in “mission mode” with responsible and transparent AI development at their core.