The beat report: The long arc of telecom, and why the Vi story pulled me back

In The Beat Report, Mint’s journalists bring you unique perspectives on their beats, breaking down new trends and developments, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their reporting.

I have been writing about telecom long enough to remember a time when it was not even considered a “sector”. When the New Telecom Policy of 1999 was introduced, I wasn’t a telecom correspondent—not by designation, not by instinct. I found myself pulled into it almost accidentally, because India’s most storied entrepreneur at the time, Dhirubhai Ambani, had decided it was his next big bet. When Ambani chose a field, it stopped being a niche beat. It became an arena.