Lok Sabha Question No. 3648 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-17
Subject: Investment in Network Infrastructure of Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3648 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  MARCH, 2021

## INVESTMENT IN NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE OF RURAL AREAS

†3648. SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that the private telecom companies are reluctant to invest in network infrastructure of rural areas resulting in poor condition of boradband access;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto along with the corrective action taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to ensure intensive digital access in urban and rural areas of the country; and
- (d) the funds earmarked and spent by the Government to make available the internet broadband services separately in urban and rural areas during 12 th five year plan?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) The private telecom companies are given licenses to provide telecom services in the country. As per the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for auction of spectrum and respective license conditions,  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  are  required  to  fulfil  minimum  rollout  obligations which  include  coverage  of  District  Headquarters,  Block  Headquarters  and  rural  SDCAs  (Short Distance Charging Areas). Further expansion beyond rollout obligations lies with the TSPs depending on their business decision.

As per data collected from TSPs in 2020, it is estimated that around 5,72,551 villages out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages in the country have mobile network coverage. However, State/UT-wise details of inhabited villages having 3G/4G mobile internet coverage are given in Annexure . Mobile coverage in uncovered villages in the country is being provided by the Government and TSPs in a phased manner. In this regard, the measures taken by Government are inter-alia given below:

-  Government has prioritized to reach remote areas of the country such as North-Eastern States, Islands,  Himalayan  States,  Western  Border  States  and  more  importantly  the  Left  Wing Extremism affected areas in the first phase.
-  BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to the all Gram Panchayats (GPs) (approx. 2.5 Lakh) in the country.
-  Under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Phase -I scheme, 2343 mobile towers have been installed for provisioning of mobile services. Project has been completed.
-  LWE Phase-II scheme has provision for 2,542 number of towers locations for providing 4G mobile services.
-  A  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  (CTDP)  is  under  implementation  for  North Eastern  Region  to  provide  mobile  coverage  in  uncovered  villages,  along  with  National Highways and to strengthen transmission network.
-  Scheme  for  providing  mobile  connectivity  in  354  uncovered  villages  of  Rajasthan,  Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, J&K, Ladakh, border areas and other priority areas is under implementation.
-  A  scheme  for  provisioning  of  4G  based  mobile  services  in  502  uncovered  villages  of Aspirational districts of four states Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan has been finalized.

(c) BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner  to provide broadband connectivity to the all GPs (approx. 2.5 Lakh) in the country. As on 27.01.2021, a total number of 1,51,431  GPs  (including  Block  Headquarters)  have  been  made  Service  Ready  under  the  project. Moreover,  the  proposal  of  the  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  for  proliferation  of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks under the framework of Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) has recently been approved by the Government. The proposal will enable  proliferation  of  Broadband  internet  through  public  Wi-Fi  hotspots  which  will  facilitate broadband access in the country including rural areas.

The Government has also taken several policy initiatives to facilitate infrastructure growth in the country which include permitting trading/sharing/liberalization of spectrum, permitting passive & active infrastructure sharing, notification of Right of Way Rules 2016 etc.

(d) The  Government  does  not  specifically  earmark  funds  for  providing  internet  broadband services separately in urban and rural areas.  However, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

was established with effect from 01.04.2002 under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003, as amended  from  time  to  time,  to  provide  financial  support  for  the  provision  of  telecom  services  in commercially unviable rural and remote areas of the country. The scope of USOF covers all telecom services including mobile services, broadband connectivity and creation of infrastructure like Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), etc. in rural and remote areas.

Annexure referred to in reply of para (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3648 to be answered on 17 th March, 2021 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria, regarding 'Investment in Network Infrastructure of Rural Areas'

State/UT-wise number of inhabited villages with 3G/4G mobile internet coverage

| S.No.   | State/ UT Name                     | Number of inhabited villages as per census 2011   | Number of inhabited villages with 3G/4G mobile internet coverage as per 2020 data   |
|---------|------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andaman &Nicobar                   | 396                                               | 85                                                                                  |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh                     | 16158                                             | 14063                                                                               |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 5258                                              | 1915                                                                                |
| 4       | Assam                              | 25372                                             | 24141                                                                               |
| 5       | Bihar                              | 39073                                             | 38752                                                                               |
| 6       | Chandigarh                         | 5                                                 | 5                                                                                   |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh                       | 19567                                             | 16774                                                                               |
| 8       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman& Diu | 84                                                | 73                                                                                  |
| 9       | Delhi                              | 103                                               | 103                                                                                 |
| 10      | Goa                                | 320                                               | 299                                                                                 |
| 11      | Gujarat                            | 17843                                             | 17068                                                                               |
| 12      | Haryana                            | 6642                                              | 6641                                                                                |
| 13      | Himachal Pradesh                   | 17882                                             | 16908                                                                               |
| 14      | Jammu &Kashmir                     | 6101                                              | 5713                                                                                |
| 15      | Jharkhand                          | 29492                                             | 27423                                                                               |
| 16      | Karnataka                          | 27397                                             | 26789                                                                               |
| 17      | Kerala                             | 1017                                              | 1017                                                                                |
| 18      | Ladakh                             | 236                                               | 81                                                                                  |
| 19      | Lakshadweep                        | 6                                                 | 6                                                                                   |
| 20      | Madhya Pradesh                     | 51929                                             | 49479                                                                               |
| 21      | Maharashtra                        | 40959                                             | 38945                                                                               |
| 22      | Manipur                            | 2515                                              | 1709                                                                                |
| 23      | Meghalaya                          | 6459                                              | 4041                                                                                |
| 24      | Mizoram                            | 704                                               | 408                                                                                 |
| 25      | Nagaland                           | 1400                                              | 1022                                                                                |
| 26      | Odisha                             | 47677                                             | 38730                                                                               |
| 27      | Punjab                             | 12168                                             | 12167                                                                               |
| 28      | Puducherry                         | 90                                                | 90                                                                                  |
| 29      | Rajasthan                          | 43264                                             | 41811                                                                               |
| 30      | Sikkim                             | 425                                               | 409                                                                                 |
| 31      | Tamil Nadu                         | 15049                                             | 14975                                                                               |
| 32      | Telangana                          | 10128                                             | 9753                                                                                |
| 33      | Tripura                            | 863                                               | 803                                                                                 |
| 34      | Uttarakhand                        | 15745                                             | 13335                                                                               |
| 35      | Uttar Pradesh                      | 97813                                             | 97193                                                                               |
| 36      | West Bengal                        | 37478                                             | 37453                                                                               |
|         | TOTAL                              | 5,97,618                                          | 5,60,179                                                                            |

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