Lok Sabha Question No. 4220 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-21
Subject: Telecommunication Infrastructure in Kerala
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: PARAYAMPARANBIL KUTTAPPAN BIJU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4220 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 ST     MARCH, 2018

## TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN KERALA

4220. DR. P.K. BIJU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  progress  of  various  ongoing  projects  of  the  Government  for  better telecommunication infrastructure in Kerala, district-wise;
- (b) the reasons for inadequate pace of implementation of said projects in certain districts of the State;
- (c) the  estimate  of  livelihood  opportunities  made  available  through  new  communications infrastructure projects implemented in the State of Kerala after June, 2014; and
- (d) the amount spent on communications-related projects implemented in Kerala during the last three years, year-wise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The  details  of  the  progress  of  various  ongoing  projects  for  better  telecommunication infrastructure in Kerala, district-wise is enclosed at Annexure-I.
- (b) There is no delay in implementation of projects. Further, Mobile services, NGN projects, OFC projects and Wi-Fi projects are being implemented in all districts of Kerala.
- (c) Under Bharat Net project, about 52479 Mandays employment has been made available. In addition, these projects also generate indirect employment, opening up livelihood opportunities for citizens.
- (d) The  details  of  the  amount  spent  on  communications-related  projects  implemented  in Kerala during the last three  years are enclosed at Annexure-II.

## (a) The details of the project under Universal Service Obligation Fund in Kerala State is as under:

BharatNet  Project: BharatNet  project  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  create network to  connect  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (approx.  2.5  lakh)  by  broadband  in  the  country including Kerala. This project is under implementation and the infrastructure created will be a national asset, accessible on a non-discriminatory basis to the Service Providers.

In Kerala, BharatNet has been implemented by BSNL and all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been provided broadband connectivity under this project. As on 11.03.2018, by laying a total  length  of  830  km  Optical  Fibre  Cable  (OFC)  1,129  GPs  (including  Block  Headquarters) have been made Service Ready. The District-wise details are given as under :

## District-wise status of BharatNet in Kerala

| S. No.   | District Name    |   No of GPs* |   No of GPs Service Ready* |
|----------|------------------|--------------|----------------------------|
| 1        | ALAPPUZHA        |           85 |                         85 |
| 2        | KOZHIKODE        |           87 |                         87 |
| 3        | WAYANAD          |           29 |                         29 |
| 4        | KASARGOD         |           44 |                         44 |
| 5        | KANNUR           |           92 |                         92 |
| 6        | IDUKKI           |           60 |                         60 |
| 7        | ERNAKULAM        |           98 |                         98 |
| 8        | KOLLAM           |           81 |                         81 |
| 9        | KOTTAYAM         |           84 |                         84 |
| 10       | MALAPPURAM       |          115 |                        115 |
| 11       | PALAKKAD         |          104 |                        104 |
| 12       | PATHANAMTHITTA   |           62 |                         62 |
| 13       | THRISSUR         |          104 |                        104 |
| 14       | THIRUVANANTPURAM |           84 |                         84 |
|          | KERALA TOTAL     |         1129 |                       1129 |

*includes Block Headquarters

## BSNL

(b) The various BSNL projects are in progress in Kerala Circle. The details of district wise progress are furnished below.

## i. BSNL Projects of Mobile Services

The Phase VIII.4 GSM project is in progress in Kerala Circle where BSNL has planned to add approximately 150 2G, 1342 3G and 651 4G BTSs. District-wise breakup is as given below.

|                    | PhaseVIII.4 Site Plan**   | PhaseVIII.4 Site Plan**   | PhaseVIII.4 Site Plan**   |
|--------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
| District           | 2G                        | 3G                        | 4G                        |
| Alappuzha          | 5                         | 64                        | 0                         |
| Ernakulam          | 15                        | 106                       | 3                         |
| Idukki             | 2                         | 73                        | 82                        |
| Kannur             | 10                        | 140                       | 1                         |
| Kasaragod          | 6                         | 79                        | 55                        |
| Kollam             | 11                        | 99                        | 47                        |
| Kottayam           | 13                        | 129                       | 37                        |
| Kozhikode          | 14                        | 85                        | 0                         |
| Malappuram         | 11                        | 120                       | 73                        |
| Palakkad           | 15                        | 137                       | 41                        |
| Pathanamthitta     | 13                        | 97                        | 0                         |
| Thiruvananthapuram | 17                        | 94                        | 96                        |
| Thrissur           | 14                        | 119                       | 80                        |
| Wayanad            | 4                         | 0                         | 136                       |
| Total              | 150                       | 1342                      | 651*                      |

## (ii) NGN Projects

- (a) NGN C5 project Phase-III - In this project it is proposed to replace 707 TDM switches with NGN equipment.
- (b) CDOT  MAXNG  Project  -  In  this  project  it  is  proposed  to  upgrade  474  CDOT  MAX switches to CDOT MAX NG switches.

The district wise plan for conversion under NGN C5 & MAXNG projects are given below:

|   Sl. No. | District/SSA       |   NGN C5 Project -Ph III (No. of lines) |   CDOT MAXNG Project (no. of lines) | Sl. No.   | District/SSA        | NGN C5 Project -Ph III(No. of lines)   | CDOT MAXNG Project (no. of lines)   |
|-----------|--------------------|-----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------|---------------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
|         1 | Trivandrum         |                                  125600 |                               31215 | 7         | Thrissur            | 189440                                 | 27632                               |
|         2 | Kollam             |                                   73888 |                               35993 | 8         | Palakkad            | 26048                                  | 36492                               |
|         3 | Pathanamthitta     |                                   22720 |                               36457 | 9         | Malappuram          | 141088                                 | 0                                   |
|         4 | Alappuzha          |                                  141088 |                               29412 | 10        | Calicut & Wayanad   | 102144                                 | 26290                               |
|         5 | Kottayam           |                                   64000 |                               33310 | 11        | Kannur & Kasaragode | 194336                                 | 70618                               |
|         6 | Ernakulam & Idukki |                                  150464 |                              105038 |           |                     |                                        |                                     |

## (iii) NOFN Project completed in Kerala Circle

| Name of the SSA     |   No of Blocks |   No of GramaPanchayats / Block office |   Service ready |
|---------------------|----------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------|
| KOTTAYAM            |             11 |                                     84 |              84 |
| KOLLAM              |             11 |                                     81 |              81 |
| KANNUR & KASARAGODE |             17 |                                    136 |             136 |
| ERNAKULAM & IDUKKI  |             22 |                                    159 |             159 |
| ALAPPUZHA           |             12 |                                     85 |              85 |
| PALAKKAD            |             13 |                                    104 |             104 |
| PATHANAMTHITTA      |              8 |                                     62 |              62 |
| THIRUVANANTHAPURAM  |             11 |                                     84 |              84 |
| THRISSUR            |             16 |                                    104 |             104 |
| KOZHIKODE & WAYANAD |             16 |                                    116 |             116 |
| MALAPPURAM          |             15 |                                    115 |             115 |
| Total               |            152 |                                   1130 |            1130 |

## (IV) On going OFC Projects

(a) Converged  Packet  Access  Network  (CPAN)  Project: BSNL Transport network was designed  and  deployed  to  carry  basically  TDM  traffic.  In  the  present  scenario,  as  all  new network  elements  are  generating  IP  traffic  BSNL  planned  to  introduce  Packet  Transport Network  elements  based  on  MPLS-TP  for  the  reliable  and  efficient  transportation  of  traffic. 2238Nos of Converged Packet Access Network (CPAN )equipments are allotted this year for Kerala Telecom Circle, to upgrade the aggregation network.  Kerala Circle has planned to install the equipments in the following business areas and the project is in progress.

| CPAN equipments    | CPAN equipments   | CPAN equipments   | CPAN equipments   | CPAN equipments   |
|--------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| District/SSA       | A1                | A2                | B1                | B2                |
| Alappuzha          | 143               | 2                 | 31                | 10                |
| Calicut &Wayanad   | 160               | 2                 | 30                | 15                |
| Kannur &Kasaragode | 210               | 6                 | 16                | 20                |
| Ernakulam&Idukki   | 280               | 14                | 79                | 76                |
| Kottayam           | 62                | 2                 | 36                | 8                 |
| Malappuram         | 125               | 2                 | 42                | 8                 |
| Palakkad           | 131               | 2                 | 25                | 4                 |
| Pathanamthitta     | 55                | 2                 | 18                | 4                 |
| Kollam             | 95                | 2                 | 18                | 5                 |
| Trichur            | 150               | 6                 | 20                | 16                |
| Trivandrum         | 230               | 4                 | 50                | 22                |
| Total              | 1641              | 44                | 365               | 188               |

(According to the capacity CPAN equipments are named A1, A2, B1& B2).

## (b). Laying of OFC:-

450kms of 24F and 615kms of 48F OFC has also planned for laying in the following business areas.

| Business Area      |   24F OFC in kms | 48F OFC in kms   |
|--------------------|------------------|------------------|
| Alappuzha          |               22 | 32               |
| Calicut &Wayanad   |               57 | 34               |
| Kannur &Kasaragode |               14 | 94               |
| Ernakulam&Idukki   |               86 | 174              |
| Kottayam           |               36 | -                |
| Malappuram         |               35 | 40               |
| Palakkad           |               57 | 72               |
| Pathanamthitta     |               28 | 24               |
| Kollam             |               33 | 56               |
| Trichur            |               68 | 44               |
| Trivandrum         |               14 | 45               |
| Total              |              450 | 615              |

## V. WiFi Project

1. Public  WIFI  4G  services  under  USOF  is  planned  in    1070  rural  exchanges  in  Kerala Circle  with  backhaul  bandwidth  of  2mbps  &  with  1  access  point  which  is  having  a download  limit  of  4GB  per  device  per  month.  Out  of  which  already  commissioned locations 139.Work in progress 311 locations. Remaining will be completed on receipt of the  WIFI  equipment.  Cost  of  the  project  for  Kerala  Circle  for  WIFI  PH  I:  9.63  Crores. Cost of the project for Kerala for WIFI PH II:6.13 Crores.

| SSA   | Already commissioned under MDO   | Already commissioned under USOF   | Work is in progress   |
|-------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------|
|       | WIFI PH -I Project               | WIFI PH -I Project                | WIFI PH II Project    |
| ALP   | 11                               | 13                                | 22                    |
| CLT   | 24                               | 15                                | 30                    |
| CNN   | 44                               | 11                                | 42                    |
| ENK   | 22                               | 15                                | 37                    |
| KTM   | 2                                | 15                                | 28                    |
| MRX   | 17                               | 12                                | 25                    |
| PGT   | 14                               | 10                                | 29                    |
| PTA   | 3                                | 11                                | 24                    |
| QLN   | 3                                | 13                                | 23                    |
| TCR   | 11                               | 14                                | 24                    |
| TVM   | 21                               | 10                                | 27                    |
| Total | 172                              | 139                               | 311                   |

## VI .Broadband projects

Augmentation  of  broadband  core  network  has  been  completed  in  various  locations  in Kerala  by  adding  various  new  network  elements  &    new  MNG-PAN  (MPLS-TP\_  based  Next

Generation transport Network- Packet) Access Network) for improving the browsing speed of broadband  customers.  Total  cost  involved  for  installing  new  MNG  PAN  equipment  ,  PTN switches and augmentation of BNGs is 38.30Crores.  New MNG PAN expansion is also planned at Kozhikode, Kannur, Palakkad, Trichur& Trivandrum for which the cost expected is RS.3.64 crores.

MPLS( Multi protocol label Switching) backbone also expanded during the year 2016-17 by  adding  new  MNGT  (MPLS  based  Next  Generation  Transport)  PE  routers  in  all  SSA Headquarters in addition to the already existing 10 Routers. One IGW( Internet Gateway router) chain  is  also  installed  and  commissioned  at  Ernakulam  co-located  with  the  MNGT  Core  at Ernakulam for managing Data traffic. Total cost involved in this work pertaining to Kerala Circle is 5.57 Crores.

## VII. Wi-Fi Services

Public Free WIFI services in 2000 locations including rural areas are being provided by Kerala State IT Mission, Kerala State Govt. This work is entrusted to BSNL Kerala and the work is in progress.

| S. No.   | State   | District       |   Total Sites planned |   Total Live sites |
|----------|---------|----------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| 1        | Kerala  | Ernakulam      |                   161 |                112 |
| 2        | Kerala  | Trivandrum     |                   120 |                 19 |
| 3        | Kerala  | Alleppey       |                    61 |                 35 |
| 4        | Kerala  | Kottayam       |                   118 |                 73 |
| 5        | Kerala  | Thrissur       |                    91 |                 59 |
| 6        | Kerala  | Pathanamthitta |                    40 |                 22 |
| 7        | Kerala  | Pallakad       |                    61 |                 20 |
| 8        | Kerala  | Kozhikode      |                    43 |                 17 |
| 9        | Kerala  | Kannur         |                    72 |                 12 |
| 10       | Kerala  | Kasargod       |                    53 |                 20 |
| 11       | Kerala  | Idukki         |                    22 |                  2 |
| 12       | Kerala  | Kollam         |                    73 |                 21 |
| 13       | Kerala  | Wayanad        |                    32 |                 22 |
| 14       | Kerala  | Malapuram      |                    53 |                 10 |
|          |         | Total          |                  1000 |                444 |

| Year wise funds disbursed / spent under the various schemes of USOF in Kerala   | Year wise funds disbursed / spent under the various schemes of USOF in Kerala   | Year wise funds disbursed / spent under the various schemes of USOF in Kerala   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                                 |                                                                                 | Rs. in crores                                                                   |
| 14.94                                                                           | 21.72                                                                           | 32.17                                                                           |

The amount spent on communications-related projects implemented in Kerala during last three years Year-wise?

| S. No   | Name of the project                        | 2014-15 (Crores)   | 2015-16 (Crores)   | 2016- 17(Crores)   |
|---------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| 1.      | Phase VII                                  | 17.863             | -                  | -                  |
| 2.      | Phase VII+                                 | -                  | 0.8                | 210.71             |
| 3.      | CDOT MAX NG                                | -                  | 13.14              | -                  |
| 4.      | NOFN                                       | -                  | 46.61              | -                  |
| 5.      | NGN                                        | -                  | 41.41              | -                  |
| 6.      | OFC project (material cost only)           | 0.84               | 0.42               | 9.07               |
| 7.      | Addition of Transmission equipments        | 2.30               | 10.40              | 7.81               |
| 8.      | Wi- Fi Project                             | 0                  | 0                  | 9.63               |
| 9.      | Broadband core network expansion           | 2.688              | 0.787              | 32.317             |
| 10.     | BNG(Broadband Network Gateway) upgradation | 2.0356             | 0.482              | 0                  |
| 11.     | MPLS backbone expansion                    | -                  | 5.57               | -                  |
|         | Total                                      | 25.7266            | 119.619            | 269.537            |

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