Lok Sabha Question No. 3467 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Internet Services in Remote Tribal Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3467 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  JANUARY, 2019

## INTERNET SERVICES IN REMOTE TRIBAL AREAS

†3467. SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  public  sector  telecom  operators  are  providing  internet  services  in remote tribal areas of the country including Maharashtra;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there has been a delay in providing internet/landline connections in such areas;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to provide quality services to the people of the above said areas?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to(d) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is providing internet services using its  wireline  (xDSL, FTTH, Lease Lines) and wireless (Mobile, Wi-Max, Wi-Fi hotspots) services in rural tribal areas of the country including Maharashtra.

Under BharatNet project funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), out  of  2.5  lakh  (approx)  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  1,16,590  GPs  have  been  made service ready till date. 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, which includes remote tribal areas  of  the  country  including  Maharashtra  state.    On  an  average,  5  Wi-Fi  Access Points  (APs)  are  being  provided  at  each  GP.Of  these,  3  APs  will  be  connected  to government  institutions  such  as  police  stations,  schools,  hospitals  and  post  offices, while 2 APs will be available for public use.  So far 10,943 GPs have been covered with Wi-Fi hotspots facility.

- (e) BSNL is undertaking the following steps to provide quality services to the people of above areas;

## Wireline Services;

1.  Augmentation  of  Broadband  Network  equipments  from  time  to  time  for increasing traffic carrying capacity and speed.
2.  Monitoring of operational parameters on daily/ weekly/ monthly basis.
3.  All  broadband  network  equipments  are  monitored  through  centralized server on real time basis.
4.  Daily monitoring of pending fault dockets.
5.  Augmentation of speed of wireline broadband upto 10Mbps.
6.  BSNL has setup large number of Wi-Fi Hot spots/ Access points on panIndia  basis  (except  Delhi  &  Mumbai)  including  remote  tribal  areas  for increasing  its  reach  of  broadband  service.  Till  30.11.2018  BSNL  has installed approximately 27500 Wi-Fi Hotspots across 10333 locations in the country.
7.  Rehabilitation of outdoor network.
8.  Strengthening of the network by close monitoring and meeting the Quality of Service (QoS) benchmarks of TRAI.

## Wireless Services:

1.  BSNL  is  augmenting  its  mobile  network  progressively  so  as  to  enhance coverage/ capacity.
2.  In Phase VIII.4 of mobile expansion project presently under rollout, 68099 no. of (2G+3G+4G) BTSs are envisaged to be added in the network in both urban and rural areas which will further strengthen broadband penetration in India  and already  36634 BTSs have been installed and commissioned as on 31.10.2018.
3.  BSNL is optimizing its mobile network continuously for improved performance.
4.  Regular  surveys  of  the  low  signal  areas  and    corrective  measures  as required.
5.  Mechanism has  been  introduced  in  order  to  monitor  day-to-day  call  drop status  in  BSNL  and  immediate  remedial  action  is  taken  in  case  of  any deviation.

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