Lok Sabha Question No. 3530 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-17
Subject: Rural Internet Subscribers in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3530 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  MARCH, 2021

## RURAL INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS IN ANDHRA PRADESH

## 3530.   SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the total number of rural internet subscribers in the country State-wise, including Andhra Pradesh;

(b) whether the Government is taking any steps to increase internet subscribers in rural areas and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  distribute  any  device  to  increase  rural  internet subscribers especially in backward districts of the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) Service area-wise number of internet subscribers in rural areas of the country at the end of September 2020 is given at Annexure .

(b)&(c)  For  penetration  of  internet  services  in  rural  and  backward  areas  of  the  country,  the Department has taken the following initiatives:

1. The  Department  is  executing  the  flagship  Bharatnet  Project  to  connect  2.5  Lakh  Gram Panchayats  (GPs)  with  an  optical  mix  of  media  (i.e.  OFC/Radio/Satellite).  Under  this project Wi-fi hotspots have been installed in 103400 GPs.
2. The Union Cabinet has approved Prime Minister Wireless Access Network Interface (PMWANI) framework on 9-12-2020 which allows smaller players to provide Wi-Fi services without having to incur heavy costs, thus leading to setting up of more Wi-Fi hotspots in the country including rural areas.
3. For  provision  of  mobile  services  in  Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE)  affected  areas  under Phase-I, the project has been completed by installing 2,343 towers. Under Phase-II- 4G mobile services in  Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas for installation of 2,542 number of tower sites.

4. Under Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for mobile connectivity in the North Eastern Region, a total number of 1,358 towers have been installed, out of which 1,355 sites are providing services.
5. Provision  of  4G  Mobile  Coverage  in  85  uncovered  Villages  and  seamless  4G  Mobile coverage of NH223 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
6. Mobile connectivity in 354 uncovered villages of J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Border area & other priority areas. About 80 villages have been covered.
7. 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan.

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## ANNEXURE

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred  Question No. 3530 to be answered on 17 th March 2021 regarding Rural internet subscribers in Andhra Pradesh.

## Service area wise Rural internet subscribers in the country at the end of September-2020

(in Million)

| Telecom Service Area   |   Total Rural subscribers |
|------------------------|---------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh         |                     26.69 |
| Assam                  |                      8.9  |
| Bihar                  |                     32.82 |
| Delhi                  |                      0.76 |
| Gujarat                |                     14.67 |
| Haryana                |                      7.08 |
| Himachal Pradesh       |                      4.09 |
| Jammu &Kashmir         |                      3.45 |
| Karnataka              |                     17.17 |
| Kerala                 |                     11.5  |
| Kolkata                |                      1.44 |
| Madhya Pradesh         |                     20.84 |
| Maharashtra            |                     26.86 |
| Mumbai                 |                      1.95 |
| North East             |                      4.31 |
| Orissa                 |                     13.09 |
| Punjab                 |                      8.66 |
| Rajasthan              |                     20.49 |
| Tamil Nadu             |                     14.63 |
| UP (East)              |                     30.52 |
| UP (West)              |                     14.89 |
| West Bengal            |                     17.52 |
| Total                  |                    302.35 |

Source: TRAI

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