Lok Sabha Question No. 321 (STARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Mobile Towers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ganesh Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 321 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH   DECEMBER, 2019

## MOBILE TOWERS

## †*321. SHRI GANESH SINGH:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  mobile  towers  are  not  available  in  the  remote  villages  of  Madhya  Pradesh  so  far including Satna district and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the efforts made/being made by the Government for having mobile towers installed in remote areas of the State;
- (c) the time frame by which the vision of revolution in communication is likely to be fulfilled in remote villages and the efforts made by the Government in this regard so far; and
- (d) whether any policy framework has been prepared by the Government in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *321 FOR 11 TH  DECEMBER, 2019  ON 'MOBILE TOWERS'.

(a) to (d) As per the data collected from the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) field units in 2019, it is estimated that out of 51,929 inhabited villages (as per the Census 2011) in the State of Madhya Pradesh,there are 48,959 inhabited villages covered by mobile services and out of 1,799 inhabited villages in Satna district, 1,767 inhabited villages are covered by mobile services.

The  National  Digital  Communications  Policy  2018  (NDCP-2018)  has  been  notified  on 22.10.2018 with a vision to support India's transition to a digitally empowered economy and society and  to  fulfil  the  information  and  communication  needs  of  citizens  and  enterprises  through  the establishment  of  a  ubiquitous,  resilient,  secure,  accessible  and  affordable  Digital  Communications Infrastructure and Services by year 2022. The  NDCP-2018,  inter-alia, aims to accomplish connectivity to all uncovered areas by the year 2022.

Mobile  coverage  in  the  uncovered  villages  in  the  country  is  being  provided  by  the Government and the TSPs in a phased manner. The following projects are approved/implemented by the Government in rural and remote areas of the country, including the state of Madhya Pradesh:

- (i) Under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas Phase-I project, 2,355 towers in the country including 22 towers in Madhya Pradesh, have been installed;
- (ii) Under LWE Phase-II project, Government has approved installation of 2,217 mobile towers for providing mobile connectivity in the country including 23 mobile towers in Madhya Pradesh;
- (iii) To provide mobile connectivity in  354  villages  of  uncovered  border  areas,  Ladakh and Kargil Region and other priority areas including one uncovered village in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh;
- (iv) A Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern  Region  to  provide  mobile  coverage  in  uncovered  villages  and  alongwith National Highways and to augment transmission network;
- (v) Under BharatNet project, broadband connectivity in all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country;
- (vi) Laying of submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands for providing connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands;
- (vii) Mobile connectivity to  cover uncovered villages  and along  National Highway (NH 223) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands;
- (viii) Mobile  connectivity  has  been  enhanced  in  Lakshadweep  Islands  by  installing  10 mobile towers;
- (ix) Satellite  bandwidth  augmentation  upto  4  Gbps  and  1.71  Gbps  for  Andaman  & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands respectively.

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