Telecom stocks rally in 2026 on BharatNet, DoT relief

Market snapshot: Nifty holds firm, telecom stands out

Indian equities were steady-to-positive in the sessions referenced, with the Nifty up about 100 points and trading near 23,520 around noon. The move was led by names such as Cipla, Adani Enterprises and Bharti Airtel, while IT and sugar stocks were under pressure. Against that mixed backdrop, telecom emerged as a clear pocket of strength, with operator and infrastructure stocks reacting to company-specific developments and policy headlines.

Telecom operators in focus: broad-based buying

Shares of telecom services companies drew attention in intra-day trade, rising as much as 4% on the BSE in one session. Vodafone Idea gained 4% to ₹14.90, while Bharti Hexacom (₹1,478) and Bharti Airtel (₹1,835.85) were up about 1% each in the same intra-day window.

In a separate session highlighted as “stocks to watch,” telecom services providers rallied up to 6% on the BSE amid heavy volumes. Vodafone Idea hit a two-month high of ₹10.55 after jumping 6% intra-day, while Bharti Airtel gained 3% to ₹1,892.75 in intra-day deals.

One-month performance: operators beat the Sensex

Over the past month, the telecom names cited outperformed the broader market. Bharti Airtel was up 3.3%, Bharti Hexacom rose 1%, and Vodafone Idea surged 20% over that period. By comparison, the BSE Sensex declined 2.8% in the same timeframe.

The relative strength matters because it suggests investors were already rotating toward telecom even before the latest set of triggers. It also indicates that telecom’s move was not limited to a single stock, but visible across multiple listed operators.

Analyst views: Airtel coverage and technical levels

Analysts initiated coverage on Bharti Airtel with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹2,387, based on 10x FY28E EV/EBITDA. Separately, technical commentary suggested Bharti Airtel could rise toward ₹2,200 after a breakout beyond ₹2,028.

Another view noted resistance for Airtel in the ₹2,100-₹2,120 zone, with support around ₹2,050. For Vodafone Idea, a technical level mentioned was a move past ₹10.74, with the possibility of crossing ₹12 if momentum sustains.

Corporate actions: Vodafone Idea fund raise, Airtel rights issue call

Vodafone Idea’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Vodafone Idea Telecom Infrastructure, raised ₹3,300 crore through non-convertible debentures to repay dues to the parent company. The funds were stated to be used for Vodafone Idea’s capital expenditure plans.

Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, approved the first and final call for the remaining ₹15,741 crore to be raised through the rights issue it announced in 2021. The proceeds are earmarked to service interest costs and for general corporate purposes. The company also indicated that it expects its India business to become “effectively net debt-free” in the near term, excluding dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and finance lease obligations.

Policy trigger: bank guarantee relief for pre-2022 spectrum

Telecom shares also reacted after reports that the Union Cabinet approved elimination of bank guarantees for telecom companies related to spectrum acquired prior to 2022. Vodafone Idea said in a stock exchange filing that it had submitted detailed requests to the DoT on October 8, 2024, seeking removal of bank guarantee obligations for spectrum bought before 2022, describing it as a common industry request.

In that policy-driven session, Vodafone Idea finished at ₹7.61, up 9.18%, after being described as having surged nearly 19% from the previous close during the day. MTNL rose to an intra-day high of ₹51.45 and closed at ₹48.44, up 2.52%.

Other telecom-linked names also moved. Tata Teleservices hit the upper circuit on the NSE and closed at ₹82.86, up 20%. Indus Towers rose to a high of ₹355.85 and ended at ₹341, up 1.08%. Route Mobile closed at ₹1,464.95, up 4.06%. Bharti Airtel ended unchanged at ₹1,577.95 after touching ₹1,604.85.

BharatNet allocation: big capex visibility for fibre and EPC players

Telecom infrastructure shares were in focus after the Union Cabinet approved an allotment of around ₹130,000 crore for the next phase of BharatNet. The project aims to provide fixed-line broadband connectivity to every Indian village, according to a top DoT official cited.

In that session, Birla Cable, Universal Cables and Vindhya Telelinks hit 52-week highs and rose up to 20%. Sterlite Technologies gained 8% to ₹163.95 and was up 11% over two days after it announced a ₹250 crore order for building and maintaining data centres for a public sector entity. HFCL rallied 9%.

ICICI Securities said the BharatNet investment could be a large opportunity for Sterlite Technologies, HFCL, Tejas Networks and Vindhya Telelinks across optical fibre cable, equipment and EPC work, while also noting that payment consistency remains an important watchpoint given past-cycle delays.

Orders and operating updates: STL, Tejas, HFCL

Sterlite Technologies and Tejas Networks were described as having a muted FY25, with early signs of orders picking up. STL won a ₹2,631 crore order from BSNL for the middle-mile network of BharatNet in the J&K and Ladakh telecom circles. Tejas Networks received an order worth ₹1,525 crore from TCS in May for radio access network and other equipment tied to BSNL’s 4G mobile network project.

HFCL reported a strong FY25, with a 30% rise in order bookings to ₹9,967 crore, led by network services from the government. The company expects revenue from fibre optic cable and associated business to double in FY26. HFCL also highlighted contracts worth ₹157 crore for optical fibre cables for BharatNet and a ₹173.72 crore order to set up 5G outdoor customer premise equipment (CPE), among other wins.

Small-cap beneficiary: Bondada Engineering’s Airtel-linked orders

Bondada Engineering said it received a domestic order from Bharti Airtel for supply of 8-metre and 6-metre galvanized iron (GI) poles to Haryana, valued at ₹10.20 crore (including GST). The company noted there is no specified execution timeframe.

A separate disclosure referenced another Airtel order worth ₹1.37 crore for supplying 6-metre GI poles to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Bondada was also described as having a total order book of ₹1,747 crore.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact: what investors tracked

The sessions described show telecom moving on three distinct drivers: policy relief expectations, operator balance-sheet actions, and government-led infrastructure spending. Policy headlines around bank guarantees for pre-2022 spectrum helped lift sentiment in operator stocks such as Vodafone Idea, MTNL and Tata Teleservices, while Indus Towers also saw positive price action.

Separately, Vodafone Idea’s ₹3,300 crore fund raise at the subsidiary level and Airtel’s step to raise ₹15,741 crore through the rights issue call added fresh datapoints on funding and deleveraging. On the supply-chain side, the ₹130,000 crore BharatNet allocation and large orders for STL, Tejas and HFCL provided tangible order visibility for fibre, equipment and EPC companies.

Analysis: why this telecom move mattered

Telecom’s outperformance versus the Sensex over one month, as cited, indicates investors were already positioning for sector-specific catalysts. The bank guarantee decision, if implemented as reported, directly addresses a long-running friction point in the sector’s financial obligations for older spectrum, which can influence liquidity management.

BharatNet-related ordering supports the view that government-led broadband buildouts can drive near-term revenue and order books for optical fibre and network equipment firms. But broker commentary also flagged a practical risk: execution and timely payments, given prior cycles where debtor days expanded due to delays.

Conclusion

Telecom stocks were supported by a mix of market leadership on index days, operator-specific fund raising and rights-issue developments, and policy and capex cues linked to spectrum obligations and BharatNet. Investors are likely to watch the implementation details of the bank guarantee relief, follow-through on BharatNet ordering and payments, and further disclosures on capex and balance-sheet actions by listed operators and their key suppliers.