Lok Sabha Question No. 414 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: Internet and Broadband Facility in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: KULAMANI SAMAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 414 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## INTERNET AND BROADBAND FACILITY IN RURAL AREAS

414. DR. KULAMANI SAMAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether unsatisfactory usage of internet and broadband penetration, especially in rural areas has received attention of the Government ;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, operator-wise and State-wise;
- (c) whether there is reluctance in investment thereof in the rural areas;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  reasons  therefor,  State-wise  including  the position in Odisha; and
- (e) the  measures  taken  up  by  the  Government  to  ensure  better  internet  and broadband penetration network, State-wise especially in Odisha ?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) As  per  'The  Indian  Telecom  Services  Performance  Indicators'  reports published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Licensed Service Area wise details of penetration of internet and broadband users (subscribers) in rural areas of the Country as on 30 th June 2018 is annexed as Annexure-I.

(c) to (e) BharatNet project, to connect all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) (approx. 2.5 lakh)by broadband in the country including Odisha, is being implemented in a phased manner.  As  on  02.12.2018,  a  total  of  1,21,652  GPs  have  been  connected  by  laying 3,01,154 Km Optical Fibre Cable (OFC). OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 1,16,411GPs, which are Service Ready. The State/UT-wise details of the BharatNet project, are given in Annexure-II .

As part of BharatNet project, the last mile connectivity is being provided at all the GPs in  the  country,  including  Odisha  through  Wi-Fi  or  any  other  suitable  broadband technology to access broadband /internet services. Every GP is being provided with 5 Access Points (APs)on an average i.e. 2 APs at Public places & 3 APs at Government

Institutions  such  as  school,  hospital,  post  offices,  police  station,  etc.  For  around  1.05 lakh GPs, the agencies for setting up of Wi-Fi hotspots have been selected. So far, WiFi  hotspots  have  been  installed  at  39,359  GPs  and  out  of  them,  services  are  being provided at 10,775 GPs, catering to more than 11 lakh subscribers with a data usage of over 50 Tera Byte per month.

In Odisha, a total of 3805 GPs have been connected under BharatNet project by laying  11729    Km  OFC  as  on  02.12.2018.  OFC  laying  &  equipment  installation  has been completed at 3,470 GPs, which are Service Ready.

In  addition,  the  following  initiatives  have  also  been  taken  towards  provision  of broadband/internet service:

- (a) Setting up of Wi-Fi Choupals at 5,000 Gram Panchayats, including Odisha, using BharatNet infrastructure.
- (b) Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme for setting up of 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots using the infrastructure of BSNL's telephone exchanges in rural areas, including Odisha .

Further, the 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.  This includes 483 tower locations in Odisha using 2G + 4G technology.

In  addition  to  above,  Government  has  allocated  965  Megahertz  spectrum through  auction  in  October  2016  to  various  telecom  service  providers  for  access services in the country including Odisha. In this auction, the spectrum as detailed below has been allocated in Odisha:

| Spectrum Band   | Quantum of Spectrum Allocated   |
|-----------------|---------------------------------|
| 2100 MHz        | 5 MHz (Paired)                  |
| 2300 MHz        | 20 MHz                          |
| 2500 MHz        | 20 MHz                          |

In order to provide high speed internet services, 3G/4G networks are being rolled out progressively by the telecom service providers in rural as well as urban areas.

Licensed service area wise penetration of internet and broadband users (subscribers) in rural areas (internet subscribers per 100 population) in the country as on as on 30 th June, 2018

| License Service Area   | number of users (subscribers) of internet and broadband per 100 population   |
|------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh         | 24.71                                                                        |
| Assam                  | 16.58                                                                        |
| Bihar                  | 13.62                                                                        |
| Delhi                  | 87.97                                                                        |
| Gujarat                | 24.92                                                                        |
| Haryana                | 24.63                                                                        |
| Himachal Pradesh       | 40.05                                                                        |
| Jammu & Kashmir        | 25.16                                                                        |
| Karnataka              | 25.61                                                                        |
| Kerala                 | 31.02                                                                        |
| Madhya Pradesh         | 11.47                                                                        |
| Maharashtra            | 25.40                                                                        |
| Mumbai                 |                                                                              |
| North East             | 20.65                                                                        |
| Orissa                 | 19.81                                                                        |
| Punjab                 | 35.14                                                                        |
| Rajasthan              | 20.73                                                                        |
| Tamil Nadu             | 36.33                                                                        |
| Uttar Pradesh (East)   | 13.94                                                                        |
| Uttar Pradesh (West)   |                                                                              |
| Kolkata                | 16.61                                                                        |
| West Bengal            |                                                                              |
| Total                  | 19.48                                                                        |

Notes:  Data/information  for  Andhra  Pradesh  includes  Telangana,  Madhya  Pradesh includes  Chhattisgarh,  Bihar  includes  Jharkhand,  Maharashtra  includes  Goa, Uttar Pradesh (West) includes Uttarakhand, West Bengal includes Sikkim and North-East includes Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura states.

## Status of BharatNet Project (as on 02.12.2018)

| Sr. No   | State/UT             |   Service Ready GPs |
|----------|----------------------|---------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh       |                1160 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh    |                  43 |
| 3        | Andaman & Nicobar    |                   0 |
| 4        | Assam                |                1589 |
| 5        | Bihar                |                5865 |
| 6        | Chandigarh           |                  13 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh         |                4052 |
| 8        | Dadar & Nagar Haveli |                  21 |
| 9        | Daman & Diu          |                  17 |
| 10       | Gujarat              |                5113 |
| 11       | Haryana              |                6186 |
| 12       | Himachal Pradesh     |                 226 |
| 13       | Jammu & Kashmir      |                 257 |
| 14       | Jharkhand            |                2302 |
| 15       | Karnataka            |                6110 |
| 16       | Kerala               |                1129 |
| 17       | Madhya Pradesh       |               12689 |
| 18       | Maharashtra          |               15126 |
| 19       | Manipur              |                 248 |
| 20       | Meghalaya            |                 122 |
| 21       | Mizoram              |                  19 |
| 22       | Nagaland             |                  86 |
| 23       | Odisha               |                3470 |
| 24       | Puducherry           |                 101 |
| 25       | Punjab               |                7903 |
| 26       | Rajasthan            |                8447 |
| 27       | Sikkim               |                  14 |
| 28       | Telangana            |                2047 |
| 29       | Tripura              |                 527 |
| 30       | Uttar Pradesh        |               27940 |
| 31       | Uttarakhand          |                1508 |
| 32       | West Bengal          |                2081 |
|          | Total                |              116411 |

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## Annexure-II