Lok Sabha Question No. 3901 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Telecom Services in Himachal Pradesh
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Suresh Kumar Kashyap

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3901 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH   DECEMBER, 2019

## TELECOM SERVICES IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

## †3901. SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  fixed  line  telephone/  mobile  service  is  not  working  properly  in  hilly  areas  of Himachal Pradesh and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) whether the Government proposes to use any other means of communication so that people may get proper network facility and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

- (a) Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  has  been  monitoring  the  performance  of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) against the benchmarks for various Quality of Service parameters laid  down  by  TRAI  by  way  of  Quality  of  Service  regulations  issued  from  time  to  time,  through Quarterly  Performance  Monitoring  Reports  (PMRs).  The  performance  is  assessed  for  a  License Service Area (LSA) as a whole.

As per the TRAI's PMR for Basic & Cellular Services for the quarter ending September 2019, all the service providers are meeting all the benchmarks for all the parameters in Himachal Pradesh Service  area.  Moreover,  as  reported  by  field  units,  fixed  line  telephone/mobile  service  is  working properly in hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh.

- (b) The steps taken by Government to improve telecom network in the country in uncovered areas are given below:
-  Under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas Phase-II project, Government has approved installation of 2217 mobile towers for providing mobile connectivity.
-  Scheme for providing mobile connectivity in 354 villages of uncovered border areas, Ladakh and Kargil Region and other priority areas.
-  A  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  for  mobile  connectivity  in  the  North  Eastern Region to provide mobile coverage in uncovered villages, along with National Highways and to strengthen transmission network.

-  Laying of submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands for providing connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
-  Satellite Bandwidth Augmentation upto 4 Gbps for Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
-  Mobile  connectivity  to  cover  uncovered  villages  and  along  National  Highway  (NH  223)  in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
-  Augmentation of Satellite bandwidth up to 1.71 Gbps for Lakshadweep Islands.
-  Under BharatNet project to provide broadband connectivity in all the Gram Panchayats (approx 2.5 lakh) in the country.
-  Several policy initiatives also taken to facilitate infrastructure growth which includes permitting trading/sharing/ liberalisation of  spectrum  already granted, permitting passive &  active infrastructure-sharing, Notification of Right of Way Rules- 2016, making available government land/buildings for installations of towers etc.

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