Lok Sabha Question No. 645 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-06
Subject: Internet Connectivity
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: OM BIRLA

## 645. SHRI OM BIRLA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Ministry is aware that despite its campaign of Digital India, several villages in the country do not possess internet connectivity and the ones which possess, have extremely poor internet speeds;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (c) the number of villages which do not have internet connectivity in the country, especially in Rajasthan, State-wise and district-wise;
- (d) the expected time limit by which each and every village in the country is expected to get high-speed internet connectivity; and
- (e) the measures being taken to improve the poor internet speed provided to the villages?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) There are 21.76 rural internet Subscribers per 100 population in the country as per  'The  Indian  Telecom  Services  Performance  Indicators'  report  published  by  Telecom Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI),  Licensed  Service  Area  wise  details  of  the  rural  internet subscribers  per  100  population  as  on  30 th September  2018  is  at Annexure-I. The  National Digital Communications Policy -2018 has been notified with strategic objectives which inter-alia includes provisioning of Broadband for All.

Internet  speed  inter-alia  depends  on  various  parameters  such  as  technology  deployed, network  coverage,  number  of  simultaneous  users  accessing  the  internet,  connectivity  to  the website  being  accessed.  The  speed  of  mobile  internet  is  further  dependent  on  a  number  of factors  such  as  distance  from  the  Base  Transceiver  Station  (BTS)  serving  the  customer,  the number of simultaneous users being served by the BTS, the traffic handled by the BTS etc. As such, the mobile users may experience different speeds at different location and time of usage.

- (c) In Rajasthan, under BharatNet project, as on 27.01.2019 out of 9891 Gram Panchayats (GPs), 8466 GPs are service ready. District wise status of GPs in Rajasthan is at Annexure -II.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.645 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  FEBRUARY, 2019

## INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

(d) & (e) Coverage for all villages is  being  done  in  a  phased manner,  with the following initiatives:

- (i) Under BharatNet Project, broadband connectivity to all the GPs (approx. 2.5 Lakh) in the country  including  Rajasthan  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner.  Phase  -I  of BharatNet for connecting 1 lakh GPs in the country has been completed in December 2017.  As  on  27.01.2019,  a  total  of  1,23,489  GPs  have  been  connected  by  laying 3,10,097  km  underground  OFC  and  1,16,876  GPs  have  been  made  service  ready. State/UT wise status of GPs is at Annexure III.
- (ii) As  part  of  BharatNet  project,  the  last  mile  connectivity,  through  Wi-Fi  or  any  other suitable broadband technology to access broadband /internet services is being provided at all the GPs in the country. Every GP is being provided with, on an average, 5 Access Points (APs), i.e. 2 APs at Public places and  3 APs at Government Institutions such as schools,  hospitals,  post  offices,  police  stations,  etc.  So  far, Wi-Fi  hotspots  have  been installed  at  41139  GPs  and  of  these,  services  are  being  provided  in  10883  GPs. State/UT wise details of Wi-Fi hotspots is at Annexure IV.
- (iii)  Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme for setting up of 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots (which includes 1645 in Rajasthan) using infrastructure of telephone exchanges of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in rural areas.
- (iv)  Cabinet  has  approved  a  proposal  for  providing  mobile  connectivity  in  inhabited  and uncovered villages at 4072 tower locations identified by Ministry of Home Affairs in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas in 10 States in Phase-II.

## Service Area wise no. of rural internet subscribers per 100 population at the end of September-2018

| S.No.            | Licenced Service Areas   |   No. of Rural Internet Subscribers per 100 population |
|------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh   | 27.00                    |                                                   1    |
| Assam            | 18.81                    |                                                   2    |
| Bihar            | 14.94                    |                                                   3    |
| Delhi            | 98.79                    |                                                   4    |
| Gujarat          | 27.90                    |                                                   5    |
| Haryana          | 27.38                    |                                                   6    |
| Himachal Pradesh | 43.67                    |                                                   7    |
| Jammu & Kashmir  | 26.23                    |                                                   8    |
| Karnataka        | 27.67                    |                                                   9    |
| Kerela           | 33.15                    |                                                  10    |
| Madhya Pradesh   | 14.89                    |                                                  11    |
| Maharashtra      | 28.10                    |                                                  12    |
| Mumbai           |                          |                                                  13    |
| North East       | 25.84                    |                                                  14    |
| Orissa           | 21.63                    |                                                  15    |
| Punjab           | 37.39                    |                                                  16    |
| Rajasthan        | 24.43                    |                                                  17    |
| Tamil Nadu       | 42.61                    |                                                  18    |
| UP (East)        | 15.38                    |                                                  19    |
| UP (West)        |                          |                                                  20    |
| Kolkata          | 17.90                    |                                                  21    |
| West Bengal      |                          |                                                  22    |
| Total            |                          |                                                  21.76 |

Annexure-II District-wise details of service ready GPs under BharatNet project in Rajasthan

| S. No. District   |   Service Ready GPs |
|-------------------|---------------------|
| 1 Ajmer           |                 256 |
| 2 Alwar           |                 477 |
| 3 Banswara        |                 109 |
| 4 Baran           |                 191 |
| 5 Barmer          |                 186 |
| 6 Bharatpur       |                 368 |
| 7 Bhilwara        |                 395 |
| 8 Bikaner         |                 260 |
| 9 Bundi           |                 177 |
| 10 Chittorgarh    |                 274 |
| 11 Churu          |                 258 |
| 12 Dausa          |                 222 |
| 13 Dholpur        |                  96 |
| 14 Dungarpur      |                  94 |
| 15 Hanumangarh    |                 257 |
| 16 Jaipur         |                 523 |
| 17 Jaisalmer      |                  84 |
| 18 Jalore         |                 278 |
| 19 Jhalawar       |                 258 |
| 20 Jhunjhunu      |                 309 |
| 21 Jodhpur        |                 313 |
| 22 Karauli        |                 208 |
| 23 Kota           |                 159 |
| 24 Nagaur         |                 473 |
| 25 Pali           |                 323 |
| 26 Pratapgarh     |                 110 |
| 27 Rajsamand      |                 208 |
| 28 Sikar          |                 346 |
| 29 Sirohi         |                 156 |
| 30 Sriganganagar  |                 248 |
| 31 Swaimadhopur   |                 202 |
| 32 Tonk           |                 233 |
| 33 Udaipur        |                 415 |
| Total             |                8466 |

Annexure-III State/UT wise status of service ready GPs under BharatNet project

| S. No   | State/UT                  |   Service Ready GPs ( Including BHQs) |
|---------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh            |                                 12730 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh         |                                    43 |
| 3       | Assam                     |                                  1601 |
| 4       | Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                     0 |
| 5       | Bihar                     |                                  5869 |
| 6       | Chandigarh                |                                    13 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh              |                                  4058 |
| 8       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      |                                    21 |
| 9       | Daman & Diu               |                                    17 |
| 10      | Gujarat                   |                                  5162 |
| 11      | Haryana                   |                                  6186 |
| 12      | Himachal Pradesh          |                                   226 |
| 13      | Jammu & Kashmir           |                                   264 |
| 14      | Jharkhand                 |                                  2345 |
| 15      | Karnataka                 |                                  6111 |
| 16      | Kerala                    |                                  1129 |
| 17      | Lakshadweep               |                                     0 |
| 18      | Madhya Pradesh            |                                 12693 |
| 19      | Maharashtra               |                                 15126 |
| 20      | Manipur                   |                                   265 |
| 21      | Meghalaya                 |                                   122 |
| 22      | Mizoram                   |                                    30 |
| 23      | Nagaland                  |                                    88 |
| 24      | Odisha                    |                                  3501 |
| 25      | Puducherry                |                                   101 |
| 26      | Punjab                    |                                  7936 |
| 27      | Rajasthan                 |                                  8466 |
| 28      | Sikkim                    |                                    14 |
| 29      | Tamil Nadu                |                                     0 |
| 30      | Telangana                 |                                  2047 |
| 31      | Tripura                   |                                   527 |
| 32      | Uttar Pradesh             |                                 28011 |
| 33      | Uttarakhand               |                                  1508 |
| 34      | West Bengal               |                                  2123 |
|         | Total                     |                                116876 |

Annexure-IV The State/UT wise detail of Wi-Fi hotspots provided in GPs under BharatNet

| S. No   | State/UT                  |   No. of GPs where Wi-Fi hotspots installed |   No. of GPs where Wi-Fi services are being provided |
|---------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh            |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh         |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 3       | Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 4       | Assam                     |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 5       | Bihar                     |                                         289 |                                                  124 |
| 6       | Chandigarh                |                                          12 |                                                    7 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh              |                                         393 |                                                  349 |
| 8       | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 9       | Daman & Diu               |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 10      | Gujarat                   |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 11      | Haryana                   |                                         271 |                                                  225 |
| 12      | Himachal Pradesh          |                                         165 |                                                   77 |
| 13      | Jammu & Kashmir           |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 14      | Jharkhand                 |                                         355 |                                                  109 |
| 15      | Karnataka                 |                                        2209 |                                                 1495 |
| 16      | Kerala                    |                                         701 |                                                  701 |
| 17      | Lakshadweep               |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 18      | Madhya Pradesh            |                                        1316 |                                                  405 |
| 19      | Maharashtra               |                                         871 |                                                  856 |
| 20      | Manipur                   |                                         161 |                                                    5 |
| 21      | Meghalaya                 |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 22      | Mizoram                   |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 23      | Nagaland                  |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 24      | Odisha                    |                                          90 |                                                   68 |
| 25      | Puducherry                |                                          81 |                                                   75 |
| 26      | Punjab                    |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 27      | Rajasthan                 |                                        8661 |                                                 3647 |
| 28      | Sikkim                    |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 29      | Tamil Nadu                |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 30      | Telangana                 |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 31      | Tripura                   |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
| 32      | Uttar Pradesh             |                                       25211 |                                                 2461 |
| 33      | Uttarakhand               |                                         353 |                                                  279 |
| 34      | West Bengal               |                                           0 |                                                    0 |
|         | Total                     |                                       41139 |                                                10883 |

************