Lok Sabha Question No. 2386 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-26
Subject: Internet Penetration in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: KULAMANI SAMAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2386 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH  DECEMBER, 2018

## INTERNET PENETRATION IN RURAL AREAS

2386. DR. KULAMANI SAMAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  internet and  broadband  penetration,  especially  in  rural areas  is not  so satisfactory and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(b) whether there is reluctance of investment in this regard in the rural areas and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, State-wise including the position in Odisha; and

(c) 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) 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.

(b) & (c) 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, Wi-Fi 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.

## Annexure-I

## 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 in rural areas   |
|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 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