Lok Sabha Question No. 3595 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-08-08
Subject: Mobile Towers in Inaccessible Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: KAMALBHAN SINGH MARABI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3595 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH   AUGUST, 2018

## MOBILE TOWERS IN INACCESSIBLE AREAS

†3595. SHRI KAMALBHAN SINGH MARABI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the norms laid down by the Government for installation of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) towers in villages located in remote/inaccessible areas especially in hilly regions;
- (b) whether population of villages is the basis for the said norms and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  implement  any  scheme  to  address  the problems being faced by the residents of naxal affected and farflung villages who do not have access to phone facilities;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  time  by  which  the  said  scheme  is  likely  to  be implemented; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) & (b) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), based on  technical feasibility and commercial  viability  sets  up    Base  Transceiver  Stations  (BTSs).  While  installing  BTS, BSNL gives priority  to villages having population of more than 5000.
- (c) to (e) Schemes funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for building telecom connectivity in  naxal affected and remote villages, are as follows:
- (i) Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE)  affected  areas:  Cabinet  on  23.05.2018  has approved a project proposal for providing the mobile services in inhabited and uncovered  villages  of  the  LWE  areas  in  4072  tower  locations  under  LWE Phase-II  project  with  timeline  of  18  months  from  the  date  of  signing  the agreement with the implementing agency. Implementation of the project has been initiated.

- (ii)  Uncovered  Villages:  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  is  in  the process of identification of uncovered villages in the country to provide mobile coverage in inhabited and uncovered villages in a phased manner subject to availability of funds/resources.
- (iii)   Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Project for provisioning of mobile services (2G and 4G) to uncovered villages and seamless coverage on NH223 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been formulated.  The project will be rolled out within 12 months from the date of signing the agreement.
- (iv) North  Eastern  Region  (NER):  Following  measures  have  been  taken  for expansion of mobile coverage in NER:
-  Under Comprehensive Telecom Development for NER, USOF has signed an agreement with BSNL to install 2817 mobile towers for providing mobile coverage in 4119 uncovered villages of Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam.
-  USOF  signed  agreement  with  M/s  Bharti  Airtel  Limited  and  M/s  Bharti Hexacom  Limited  to  install  2004  mobile  towers  for  providing  mobile coverage in 2128 villages and National Highways in NER  (except Meghalaya).
-  On  23.05.2018,  Cabinet  has  approved  revised  proposal  for  provision  of mobile services on 2G+4G technology for installation of 2173 mobile towers in 2374 uncovered villages and along National Highways in Meghalaya.
- (v)   BharatNet: BharatNet is being implemented to provide broadband connectivity to all  the  Gram Panchayat by laying Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) or any other suitable  media.    This  network  is  national  asset  to  be  provided  to  service providers on non-discriminatory basis.  Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are identifying locations to set up  their infrastructure, in order to  leverage BharatNet to provide telecom services.

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