Lok Sabha Question No. 2475 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Mobile Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2475

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## MOBILE SERVICES

†2475. SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  number  of  mobile  connections  in  the  country  during  each  of  the  last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise and telcom operator-wise;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to improve the mobile services in rural, hilly and backward areas;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  make  mobile  phones  available  at cheaper rates in rural areas by bringing down their price and tariffs and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to install a tower in Valmiki Nagar parliamentary constituency and if so, the details thereof including the time by which the said tower is likely to be installed and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a) The service area-wise and telecom operator-wise details of mobile connections in  the  country  during  each  of  the  last  three  years  and  current  year  are  given  at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

- (b) Ensuring connectivity through mobile services in remote and rural areas remains a  priority  of  the  Government.  Key  projects  are  being  implemented  from  Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for this purpose.

The Department of Telecom executed a project for providing Mobile Services in 2,335  locations  in  Andhra  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Maharashtra, Madhya  Pradesh,  Odisha,  Telangana,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  West  Bengal,  which  are affected  by  Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE).  As  part  of  LWE  Phase-2,  Government  has decided to install additional 4,072 mobile towers.

The Government has created a comprehensive telecommunication development plan for the entire North East Region for providing mobile connectivity in 8,621 villages. The Government is also strengthening significantly the connectivity with Andaman and Nicobar  Islands  by  laying  2164.23  km  of  Submarine  Optical  Fibre  Cable  between Mainland  (Chennai)  and  Port  Blair  and  five  other  islands  namely  Car  Nicobar,  Little Andaman,  Havelock,  Kamorta  and  Great  Nicobar  Islands  of  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands.

The Department is also implementing the flagship BharatNet project in a phased manner for  providing  connectivity  to  all  the  2,50,000  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  the country through optimal mix of media like optical fibre cable (OFC), satellite and radio. Phase  I  of  BharatNet  for  connecting  1  lakh  GPs  has  been  completed  in  December 2017. Phase II of the project is under implementation.

(c) The tariff for mobile telephony services is under forbearance except for National roaming services.  Service providers have the flexibility to fix tariffs depending on input costs, level of competition and overall market condition.  The average outgo for voice and data services in India have shown continuous downward trend, particularly in the recent  past.    From  the  regulatory  perspective,  there  is  no  plan  to  revise  the  tariff  for mobile services.

(d)    BSNL has informed that one mobile tower is working in Valmiki Nagar town. One BTS is planned to be installed at Valmiki Nagar which is targeted to be completed in July 2019.

## Service area wise number of mobile telephone connections

## Annexure-I

(in millions)

| Sr.No.   | Service Area         |   As on 31.03.2016 |   As on 31.03.2017 |   As on 31.03.2018 |   As on 31.10.2018 |
|----------|----------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh       |              74.65 |              84.94 |              85.76 |              86.76 |
| 2        | Assam                |              18.56 |              21.84 |              25.38 |              21.67 |
| 3        | Bihar                |              74.51 |              84.61 |              88.65 |              87.45 |
| 4        | Gujarat              |              62.27 |              71.84 |              71.93 |              70.01 |
| 5        | Haryana              |              23.26 |              25.05 |              23.58 |              27.47 |
| 6        | Himachal Pradesh     |               8.89 |              10.43 |              12.45 |              10.41 |
| 7        | Jammu & Kashmir      |               9.82 |              11.91 |              13.72 |              11.41 |
| 8        | Karnataka            |              61.34 |              69.14 |              67    |              68.53 |
| 9        | Kerala               |              34.31 |              39.16 |              42    |              43.45 |
| 10       | Madhya Pradesh       |              65.67 |              69.58 |              70.52 |              91.02 |
| 11       | Maharashtra          |              84.1  |              93.9  |              94.61 |              79.97 |
| 12       | North East           |              11.07 |              12.57 |              13.86 |              11.8  |
| 13       | Odisha               |              29.06 |              34.29 |              34.37 |              33.07 |
| 14       | Punjab               |              31.75 |              35.97 |              38.14 |              39.23 |
| 15       | Rajasthan            |              60.09 |              67.36 |              65.24 |              65.85 |
| 16       | Tamil Nadu           |              81.35 |              89.26 |              95.7  |              82.37 |
| 17       | Uttar Pradesh (East) |              92.24 |             104.56 |             104.19 |             106.61 |
| 18       | Uttar Pradesh (West) |              57.6  |              66.68 |              63.4  |              59.46 |
| 19       | West Bengal          |              49.5  |              58.25 |              58.88 |              58.38 |
| 20       | Kolkata              |              25.03 |              29.32 |              28.81 |              26.92 |
| 21       | Delhi                |              47.24 |              53.35 |              54.26 |              51    |
| 22       | Mumbai               |              31.8  |              36.58 |              36.52 |              37.28 |
|          | Total                |            1034.11 |            1170.59 |            1188.99 |            1170.11 |

Source: DoT

## Operator-wise number of mobile connections

| Sr.No.   | Telecom Service provider   |   31.03.2016 |   31.03.2017 | 31.03.2018   |   31.10.2018 |
|----------|----------------------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| 1        | Bharti Airtel Limited      |       251.24 |       273.65 | 304.19       |       341.66 |
| 2        | Reliance                   |       102.41 |        83.5  | 0.19         |         0.02 |
| 3        | Reliance Jio               |         0    |       108.68 | 186.56       |       262.75 |
| 4        | Vodafone                   |       197.95 |       209.06 | 222.70       |       218.89 |
| 5        | TATA                       |        60.1  |        48.99 | 31.19        |        21.06 |
| 6        | Idea                       |       175.07 |       195.37 | 211.21       |       208.71 |
| 7        | Aircel                     |        87.09 |        90.9  | 78.92*       |         0    |
| 8        | Quadrant Televentures      |         3.16 |         0    | 0.00         |         0    |
| 9        | Sistema                    |         7.69 |         4.91 | 0.00         |         0    |
| 10       | Telenor                    |        52.45 |        50.49 | 37.98        |         0    |
| 11       | Videocon                   |         6.56 |         0    | 0.00         |         0    |
| 12       | BSNL                       |        86.82 |       101.4  | 112.48       |       113.53 |
| 13       | MTNL                       |         3.56 |         3.63 | 3.56         |         3.49 |
|          | Total                      |      1034.11 |      1170.59 | 1188.99      |      1170.11 |

* Aircel data is of February, 2018

Source: DoT

## ****************

(in millions)