Lok Sabha Question No. 976 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-08
Subject: Telecom Services in NER
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: PREM DAS RAI, SANKAR PRASAD DATTA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.976 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH  FEBRUARY, 2017

## TELECOM  SERVICES  IN  NER

976.    SHRI PREM DAS RAI: SHRI  SANKAR  PRASAD DATTA:

Will         the         Minister         of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a)        the total teledensity and the trend of mobile  phone  penetration  in  the  country, State-wise including Sikkim;
- (b)         whether  all  districts  of  North Eastern  Region  (NER)  including  Tripura and  Sikkim  have been  covered  with telecommunication network;
- (c)         if so, the details thereof and if not, the timeframe to cover the same;
- (d)         the  steps  taken  to  improve  mobile communication  penetration  in  North Eastern  Region including  Tripura  and Sikkim; and
- (e)         whether  the  new  security  features will  impact  the  cost  of  manufacturing  of phones  and therefore,  mobile  penetration in  India  and  if  so,  the  reaction  of  the Government  thereto?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The service area wise total  teledensity as on 30.11.2016 and the number of mobile telephone connections  in  the  country  during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  are  given  in  the Annexure.
- (b)  &  (c) All  District  Head  Quarters  (DHQ) of North Eastern Region (NER) including Tripura and Sikkim are covered with telecommunication network. The details  are given as under:
- (d) Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  for  the  North-Eastern  Region  (NER): On 10.09.2014,  the  Government  approved  a  proposal  to  implement  a  'Comprehensive  Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region'. The Project envisages to provide mobile coverage to 8621 identified uncovered villages, installation of 321 mobile tower sites along National Highways and  strengthening  of  transmission  network  in  the  States  of    Arunachal  Pradesh,  Assam,  Manipur, Meghalaya,  Mizoram,  Nagaland,  Sikkim  and  Tripura.  The  estimated  cost  of  implementation  is  Rs. 5336.18 crores.  The Project would be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). The project is targeted to be completed by September 2018. The details are given as under:

| Physical Status   | Physical Status              |   Assam |   Meghalaya |   Mizoram |   Tripura |   Arunachal Pradesh |   Manipur |   Nagaland |   Sikkim |
|-------------------|------------------------------|---------|-------------|-----------|-----------|---------------------|-----------|------------|----------|
| DHQ               | Total DHQ                    |      33 |          11 |         8 |         8 |                  16 |         9 |         11 |        4 |
|                   | DHQ Covered with GSM service |      33 |          11 |         8 |         8 |                  16 |         9 |         11 |        4 |

Source: BSNL

| Sl. No   | States            | Mobile Coverage of Uncovered villages in NER   | Mobile Coverage of Uncovered villages in NER   | Mobile Coverage of Uncovered villages in NER   | Mobile along Highway in               | Coverage National NER Transmission Media Plan in NER   | Coverage National NER Transmission Media Plan in NER   | Consolid ated             |
|----------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| Sl. No   | States            | No. of uncovered villages                      | No. of Tower Planned to be installed           | Total Cost (Rs. In Crore)                      | No. of Towers planned to be installed | Total Cost (Rs. in Crore) Total length OFC be (kms)    | Total cost (Rs. in Crore) (OFC & Eqpt)                 | Total Cost (Rs. in Crore) |
| 1        | Arunachal Pradesh | 2805                                           | 1893                                           | 1298.82                                        | 149                                   | 126.64 1587                                            | 136.44                                                 | 1561.90                   |
| 2        | Assam             | 2503                                           | 1874                                           | 1489.57                                        | 33 27.53                              | 228                                                    | 25.09                                                  | 1542.19                   |
| 3        | Manipur           | 528                                            | 384                                            | 291.52                                         | 53                                    | 44.21 172                                              | 16.31                                                  | 352.04                    |
| 4        | Meghalaya         | 2374                                           | 2162                                           | 1368.44                                        | 11 9.18                               | 124                                                    | 12.77                                                  | 1390.39                   |
| 5        | Mizoram           | 252                                            | 227                                            | 201.37                                         | 19                                    | 15.85 747                                              | 65.26                                                  | 282.48                    |
| 6        | Nagaland          | 134                                            | 112                                            | 99.47                                          | 48                                    | 40.04 154                                              | 17.57                                                  | 157.08                    |
| 7        | Tripura           | 2                                              | 2                                              | 2.54                                           | 7 5.84                                | 76                                                     | 10.98                                                  | 19.36                     |
| 8        | Sikkim            | 23                                             | 19                                             | 18.36                                          | 1 0.83                                | 126                                                    | 11.55                                                  | 30.74                     |
|          | Total             | 8621                                           | 6673                                           | 4770.08                                        | 321                                   | 270.13 3213                                            | 295.97                                                 | 5336.18                   |

(e) The  new  security  features  may  not  necessarily  lead  to  increase  in  mobile  handset  costs. Mobile penetration also depends on several other factors like Government policies, Tariff, Quality of Service provided by operators etc. Therefore, the impact of security features on mobile penetration cannot be assessed in isolation.

Contd…….3/-

ANNEXURE Service area wise total teledensity and the number of mobile telephone connections during

the last three years and the current year as on 30.11.2016 in the country:

|                 |                  | Total mobile telephone connections (in million)   | Total mobile telephone connections (in million)   | Total mobile telephone connections (in million)   | Total mobile telephone connections (in million)   | Total Teledensity (in %) as on   |
|-----------------|------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Sr.No.          | Service Area     | As on 31.03.2014                                  | As on 31.03.2015                                  | As on 31.03.2016                                  | As on 30.11.2016                                  | 30.11.2016                       |
| 1               | Andhra Pradesh   | 67.15                                             | 71.95                                             | 74.65                                             | 79.18                                             | 90.94                            |
| 2               | Assam            | 15.28                                             | 17.15                                             | 18.56                                             | 20.54                                             | 63.25                            |
| 3               | Bihar            | 61.59                                             | 69.31                                             | 74.51                                             | 80.38                                             | 58.17                            |
| 4               | Gujarat          | 54.54                                             | 58.56                                             | 62.27                                             | 66.16                                             | 105.26                           |
| 5               | Haryana          | 21.25                                             | 22.01                                             | 23.26                                             | 23.33                                             | 85.29                            |
| 6               | Himachal Pradesh | 7.12                                              | 7.86                                              | 8.89                                              | 9.65                                              | 137.34                           |
| 7               | Jammu & Kashmir  | 7.94                                              | 9.31                                              | 9.82                                              | 10.92                                             | 88.37                            |
| 8               | Karnataka        | 54.32                                             | 58.05                                             | 61.34                                             | 65.71                                             | 108.21                           |
| 9               | Kerala           | 31.12                                             | 31.35                                             | 34.31                                             | 37.24                                             | 109.65                           |
| 10              | Madhya Pradesh   | 55.48                                             | 60.60                                             | 65.67                                             | 65.40                                             | 63.39                            |
| 11              | Maharashtra      | 72.59                                             | 76.94                                             | 84.10                                             | 88.75                                             | 91.03                            |
| 12              | North East       | 9.41                                              | 10.50                                             | 11.07                                             | 12.19                                             | 87.60                            |
| 13              | Odisha           | 25.13                                             | 27.87                                             | 29.06                                             | 32.14                                             | 75.91                            |
| 14              | Punjab           | 31.21                                             | 30.63                                             | 31.75                                             | 35.21                                             | 116.33                           |
| 15              | Rajasthan        | 52.65                                             | 55.21                                             | 60.09                                             | 63.74                                             | 87.54                            |
| 16              | Tamil Nadu       | 75.17                                             | 80.32                                             | 81.35                                             | 83.87                                             | 121.08                           |
| 17 Uttar        | Pradesh (East)   | 76.98                                             | 83.40                                             | 92.24                                             | 99.97                                             |                                  |
| 18 Uttar (West) | Pradesh          | 48.76                                             | 52.02                                             | 57.60                                             | 61.45                                             | 70.17                            |
| 19 West         | Bengal *         | 42.29                                             | 47.07                                             | 49.50                                             | 54.15                                             | 68.64                            |
| 20              | Kolkata          | 21.07                                             | 22.56                                             | 25.03                                             | 27.17                                             | 175.62                           |
| 21              | Delhi            | 42.58                                             | 46.19                                             | 47.24                                             | 49.11                                             | 240.60                           |
| 22              | Mumbai           | 30.89                                             | 30.67                                             | 31.80                                             | 33.70                                             | 155.61                           |
|                 | Total            | 904.52                                            | 969.54                                            | 1034.11                                           | 1099.97                                           | 87.85                            |

Source: DoT compiled data

*The state of Sikkim is included in the West Bengal service area.

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