Lok Sabha Question No. 1240 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-25
Subject: Telecom Services in Unviable Rural and Remote Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: SANKAR PRASAD DATTA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1240 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 th   JULY, 2018

## TELECOM SERVICES IN UNVIABLE RURAL AND REMOTE AREAS

## 1240. SHRI SANKAR PRASAD DATTA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  schemes/  programmes  being  implemented  by  the  Government  for provision of telecom services in unviable rural and remote areas of the country;
- (b) the details of the villages connected with the telecom services under the said schemes/programmes so far across the country, State/UT-wise and scheme/ programme-wise;
- (c) the details of the funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized under the said schemes/programmes  during  each  of  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year,  scheme/ programme-wise; and
- (d) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to provide telecom services in each village of the country along with the achievements thereof?

## 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  schemes/  programmes  being  implemented  by  the  Government  for  the provision of telecom services in unviable rural and remote areas are:

## (i) Scheme for Mobile Communication Services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected Areas

- a. LWE  Phase  I  Project  for  providing  the  mobile  connectivity  in  inhabited  and uncovered villages in the LWE affected areas by setting up 2355 MHA  identified towers. The sites were identified by MHA and implemented by BSNL. 2335 mobile towers are radiating.
- b. LWE Phase II project for providing mobile connectivity in inhabited and uncovered villages  in  MHA  identified  4072  tower  locations  was  approved  by  cabinet  on 23.05.2018.  The  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR)  for  LWE  phase  II  is  under preparation. Implementation  of  the project will commence  after  selection  of implementing agencies through competitive bidding process.
3. (ii) BharatNet  BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner for providing broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (GPs), (approx. 2,50,000), including those  in  LWE  areas.  As  on  15.07.2018,  a  total  of  2,83,708  km  Optical Fibre  Cable (covering 1,18,087 GPs) has been laid, and 1,13,091 Gram Panchayats have been made Service Ready in the country (Annexure - A)

## (iii) Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for Andaman & Nicobar Islands

- a. Submarine  OFC  Connectivity  between  Mainland  India  (Chennai)  and  seven Andaman  &  Nicobar  Islands  is  being  implemented  by  BSNL.  The  agency  for implementation has been selected and the timeline for completion of the project is 2 years from the award of work.
- b. Scheme for  enhancement  of  satellite  bandwidth  from  260  Mbps  to  1  Gbps  has been completed.
- c. Scheme for enhancement of satellite bandwidth from 1 Gbps to 2 Gbps is under progress.
- d. On 09.01.2018, Telecom Commission has approved revised proposal for provision of mobile services on 2G & 4G technology for installation of 214 mobile towers in identified uncovered villages and along National Highways in Andaman & Nicobar Islands for an estimated cost of Rs. 342.4 Cr

## (iv) Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for Lakshadweep Islands

- a. Ten new BTS installed and commissioned in Lakshadweep Islands for augmentation of 2G mobile coverage with EDGE BTS.
- b. Satellite bandwidth for Lakshadweep Islands has been augmented from 102 Mbps to 318 Mbps.

## (v) Plan for the North-Eastern Region (NER).

- a. Under  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  (CTDP)  for  NER,  BSNL  is installing  2817  mobile  towers  with  minimal  specification  of  2G  with  EDGE technology  for  providing  mobile  coverage  in  uncovered  villages  of  Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam with an estimated cost of Rs. 2258 Cr.
- b. M/s Bharti Airtel Limited and M/s Bharti Hexcom Limited selected through tender process to install 2004 mobile towers with minimal specification of 2G with EDGE technology to cover villages and seamless coverage on National Highway in Rest of NER (except Meghalaya) with an estimated cost of Rs. 1656 Cr. The TSP can go for higher technology.
- c. 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 the State of Meghalaya for an estimated cost of Rs. 3911 Cr.
- d. Under CTDP NER, ring connectivity between State Capitals and respective District Headquarters (DHQ) and augmentation of transmission media has been planned for strengthening of transmission network for improving the reliability and redundancy.
5. (b)      The details of  Mobile Towers installed under LWE Phase I and LWE Phase II are detailed as per Annexure -B & Annexure -C respectively.

## (c) Details as per Annexure-D

(d) DoT is  in  the  process  of  identification  of  remaining  uncovered  /  remote  villages  of  the country through its field units. On identification of such uncovered villages, the plan for provision of telecom services will be formulated.

## Status of the BharatNet as on  15.07.2018

| Sr. No   | State/UT            |   Cable laid (km) |   GPs for which Cable laid |   Service Ready GPs |
|----------|---------------------|-------------------|----------------------------|---------------------|
| 1        | Andaman & Nicobar   |                 7 |                          4 |                   0 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh      |              3555 |                       1046 |                 800 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh   |              1424 |                        550 |                  24 |
| 4        | Assam               |              4347 |                       1520 |                1520 |
| 5        | Bihar               |             14883 |                       5725 |                5628 |
| 6        | Chandigarh          |                19 |                         13 |                  13 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh        |             12886 |                       4090 |                4039 |
| 8        | Dadra& Nagar Haveli |                68 |                         21 |                  21 |
| 9        | Daman & Diu         |                26 |                         18 |                  17 |
| 10       | Gujarat             |             13816 |                       5789 |                4958 |
| 11       | Haryana             |             11591 |                       6123 |                6123 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh    |               664 |                        223 |                 202 |
| 13       | Jammu & Kashmir     |               549 |                        284 |                 227 |
| 14       | Jharkhand           |              6566 |                       2370 |                2060 |
| 15       | Karnataka           |             13545 |                       6201 |                6076 |
| 16       | Kerala              |               830 |                       1129 |                1129 |
| 17       | Lakshadweep *       |                 0 |                          0 |                   0 |
| 18       | Madhya Pradesh      |             39116 |                      12671 |               12644 |
| 19       | Maharashtra         |             32594 |                      14582 |               14004 |
| 20       | Manipur             |               569 |                        312 |                 173 |
| 21       | Meghalaya           |               663 |                        253 |                 122 |
| 22       | Mizoram             |               650 |                        109 |                  19 |
| 23       | Nagaland            |              1945 |                        621 |                  61 |
| 24       | Odisha              |             10237 |                       3665 |                3303 |
| 25       | Puducherry          |                92 |                         98 |                 101 |
| 26       | Punjab              |             12104 |                       7732 |                7545 |
| 27       | Rajasthan           |             25607 |                       8392 |                8386 |
| 28       | Sikkim              |               157 |                         24 |                   4 |
| 29       | Tamil Nadu *        |                 0 |                          0 |                   0 |
| 30       | Telangana           |              5369 |                       2047 |                2047 |
| 31       | Tripura             |              1681 |                        816 |                 489 |
| 32       | Uttar Pradesh       |             58364 |                      27999 |               27843 |
| 33       | Uttarakhand         |              3156 |                       1524 |                1493 |
| 34       | West Bengal         |              6628 |                       2136 |                2020 |
| Total    | Total               |            283708 |                     118087 |              113091 |

* Under Bharat project, tri-partite MoU for free right of way (RoW) was to be signed with all the  States/UTs.  As  per  the  MoU,  States/UTs  are  required  to  provide  free  RoW  for  the BharatNet/NOFN  project.  Tamil  Nadu  and  Lakshadweep  signed  MoUs  very  late  i.e.  on 31.03.2017 & 18.07.2017 respectively. Now Tamil Nadu is being implemented under State led model and Lakshadweep through BSNL.

## State-wise status of Mobile Towers installed in LWE Phase I scheme

## Annexure - B

| Sr   | State          | No. of Total Locations identified by MHA   |   Additional 156 Sites |   Total sites Under LWE Phase I |   Radiating |
|------|----------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------|
| 1.   | Andhra Pradesh | 54                                         |                      8 |                              62 |          58 |
| 2.   | Bihar          | 184                                        |                     66 |                             250 |         250 |
| 3.   | Chhattisgarh   | 497                                        |                     35 |                             532 |         521 |
| 4.   | Jharkhand      | 782                                        |                     34 |                             816 |         816 |
| 5.   | Maharashtra    | 60                                         |                      5 |                              65 |          65 |
| 6.   | Madhya Pradesh | 22                                         |                      0 |                              22 |          22 |
| 7.   | Odisha         | 253                                        |                      8 |                             261 |         256 |
| 8.   | Telangana      | 173                                        |                      0 |                             173 |         173 |
| 9.   | Uttar Pradesh  | 78                                         |                      0 |                              78 |          78 |
| 10.  | West Bengal    | 96                                         |                      0 |                              96 |          96 |
|      | Total          | 2,199                                      |                    156 |                            2355 |        2335 |

## State wise list of mobile tower locations under LWE Phase II:

|     | State          |   No of Districts |   No. of Mobile Towers |
|-----|----------------|-------------------|------------------------|
| 1.  | Andhra Pradesh |                 8 |                    429 |
| 2.  | Bihar          |                 8 |                    412 |
| 3.  | Chhattisgarh   |                16 |                   1028 |
| 4.  | Jharkhand      |                21 |                   1054 |
| 5.  | Madhya Pradesh |                 1 |                     26 |
| 6.  | Maharashtra    |                 2 |                    136 |
| 7.  | Odisha         |                18 |                    483 |
| 8.  | Telangana      |                14 |                    118 |
| 9.  | Uttar Pradesh  |                 3 |                    179 |
| 10. | West Bengal    |                 5 |                    207 |
|     | Total          |                96 |                   4072 |

| Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund   | Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund                            | Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund   | Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund   | Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund   | Details of funds disbursed under various schemes of Universal Service Obligation Fund   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                                         |                                                                                                                  |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | Rs. in Crore                                                                            |
| 1                                                                                       | Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra                                                                                           |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 6.91                                                                                    |                                                                                         |
| 2                                                                                       | BharatNet                                                                                                        | 2415.10                                                                                 | 5600.00                                                                                 | 6000.00                                                                                 |                                                                                         |
| 3                                                                                       | Mobile Connectivity in Left Wing Extremism areas                                                                 | 617.05                                                                                  | 280.68                                                                                  | 710.90                                                                                  | 177.36                                                                                  |
| 4                                                                                       | Rural Household Direct Exchange Lines (RDELS)                                                                    | 0.53                                                                                    | 1252.53                                                                                 |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 5                                                                                       | Setting up of Wi-Fi Choupals at 5,000 Gram Panchayats by Common Service Centre                                   |                                                                                         | 35.70                                                                                   | 68.16                                                                                   |                                                                                         |
| 6                                                                                       | Setting up of 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots using the infrastructure of BSNL's telephone exchanges in rural areas |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 187.50                                                                                  |                                                                                         |
| 7                                                                                       | Wi-Fi delivery model at 200 rural Railway Stations by M/s RailTel using their own backhaul, as a pilot project   |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 7.39                                                                                    | 0.42                                                                                    |
| 8                                                                                       | Wi-Fi hotspots at 200 Gram Panchayats by BSNL using BharatNet backhaul, as a pilot project                       |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 2.81                                                                                    |                                                                                         |
| 9                                                                                       | Augmentation, Creation and Management of Optical Fiber Network in Assam                                          |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 0.77                                                                                    |
| 10                                                                                      | Augmentation, Creation and Management of Optical Fiber Network in NE-I                                           | 3.95                                                                                    | 14.48                                                                                   |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 11                                                                                      | Augmentation, Creation and Management of Optical Fiber Network in NE-II                                          |                                                                                         | 13.04                                                                                   |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 12                                                                                      | Rural Wire Line Broadband                                                                                        | 48.66                                                                                   | 21.09                                                                                   | 13.03                                                                                   | 0.24                                                                                    |
| 13                                                                                      | Augmentation of Satellite Bandwidth in A & N Island                                                              | 8.10                                                                                    |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 14                                                                                      | Augmentation of Satellite Bandwidth in Lakshadweep                                                               |                                                                                         | 4.65                                                                                    |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 15                                                                                      | Shared Mobile Infrastructure Scheme (Phase-I)                                                                    | 3.21                                                                                    | 0.24                                                                                    |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 16                                                                                      | Village Public Telephones in uncovered villages as per census 2001                                               | 2.78                                                                                    | 4.23                                                                                    | 2.03                                                                                    | 0.01                                                                                    |
| 17                                                                                      | Replacement of Multi Access Radio Relay Village Public Telephones                                                | 0.03                                                                                    |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |                                                                                         |
| 18                                                                                      | Uncovered Villages under A&N                                                                                     |                                                                                         |                                                                                         | 0.03                                                                                    |                                                                                         |

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