Lok Sabha Question No. 1541 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-10
Subject: Shortage of Mobile Tower
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ranjeeta Koli

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1541 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2021

## SHORTAGE OF MOBILE TOWER

## †1541. SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether telecom system is not functioning properly due to lack of BTS Towers at many places of the country and if so, the details thereof including the names of the places where telecom system is inadequate, State/UT-wise;

(b) the efforts made by the Government to set up sufficient number of BTS towers and the time since when these efforts are being made?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  Sir, Telecom Services are functioning properly in most of the places in the country except a few rural and remote areas. Service Providers install towers/Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) as per their techno-commercial  viability  and  to  fulfil the rollout obligation criteria as per their  License Conditions. Multiple factors such as inability to install additional BTSs on existing Towers due to loading issues, opposition from local residents due to perceived fear of EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) radiation, non-availability of suitable structure at a few places, inaccessible terrain and transportation difficulties of equipment at some locations, and unwarranted delays in commissioning new sites due to  various  procedural  formalities  from  local  administration/  agencies,  limit  the  feasibility  of  tower installation.

(b)  Government  has  enabled  growth  of  Telecom  Sector  by  bringing  in  new  licence  conditions, regulations and policies.  These include:

-  Sharing of Active Infrastructure by TSPs,
-  Spectrum Sharing,
-  Spectrum Trading,
-  Spectrum Harmonisation and
-  Right of Way Rules.

With these policy interventions, the mobile BTS has shown a growth of 249% during the 6½ years and tower infrastructure has shown a growth of 55% during the last 5 years.  The details are attached as Annexure-I.

Government  has  implemented/planned  various  schemes  with  financial  support  from  Universal Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  to  expand  mobile  services  in  rural  and  remote  areas.  The  first scheme of USOF for provision of BTS Towers was 'Shared Mobile Infrastructure'. The agreement signed  with  successful  bidders  under  this  Scheme  was  effective  from  01/06/2007.  The  details  of scheme with USOF support has been enumerated in Annexure-II.

Also, Government of India notified Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules - 2016 in November 2016 to address the difficulties being faced by the Telecom Service Providers, Infrastructure Providers and Telecom  Companies  with  various  States/  Union  Territories  and  concerned  Central  Government Departments/ Agencies in creation of underground and over ground telecom infrastructure on account of multiple right of way related issues and exorbitant charges. These rules govern the Right of Way procedures for setting up towers and laying fibres across the country.

## Growth of  BTS

(From March 2014 to 26 th January 2021)

| No. of BTSs as on 31 st March 2014   | 6,49,834   |
|--------------------------------------|------------|
| No. of BTSs as on 26 th January 2021 | 22,66,235  |
| BTSs added (during the period)       | 15,37,430  |
| Percentage growth:                   | 249%       |

| S. No.   | License Service Area   | Total BTSs as on 31 st March 2014   | Total BTSs (as on 26 th January 2021)   | BTS added during the period March 2014 to 26th January 2021   | BTS added during the period March 2014 to 26th January 2021   |
|----------|------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | License Service Area   | Total (GSM, 3G, 4G-LTE)             | Total (GSM, 3G, 4G- LTE)                | Number of BTS added                                           | %age of BTS added                                             |
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh         | 53858                               | 169208                                  | 115350                                                        | 214%                                                          |
| 2        | Assam                  | 12180                               | 53243                                   | 41063                                                         | 337%                                                          |
| 3        | Bihar                  | 34176                               | 137873                                  | 103697                                                        | 303%                                                          |
| 4        | Chennai                | 18983                               | 48688                                   | 29705                                                         | 156%                                                          |
| 5        | Delhi                  | 27383                               | 106095                                  | 78712                                                         | 287%                                                          |
| 6        | Gujarat                | 40245                               | 135138                                  | 94893                                                         | 236%                                                          |
| 7        | Himachal Pradesh       | 6365                                | 23414                                   | 17049                                                         | 268%                                                          |
| 8        | Haryana                | 14709                               | 53133                                   | 38424                                                         | 261%                                                          |
| 9        | Jammu &Kashmir         | 10924                               | 35708                                   | 24784                                                         | 227%                                                          |
| 10       | Karnataka              | 47295                               | 145900                                  | 98605                                                         | 208%                                                          |
| 11       | Kolkata                | 14946                               | 46449                                   | 31503                                                         | 211%                                                          |
| 12       | Kerala                 | 29995                               | 88498                                   | 58503                                                         | 195%                                                          |
| 13       | Mumbai                 | 21679                               | 54791                                   | 33112                                                         | 153%                                                          |
| 14       | Maharashtra            | 56096                               | 189884                                  | 133788                                                        | 238%                                                          |

## Annexure-I

| S. No.   | License Service Area   | Total BTSs as on 31 st March 2014   | Total BTSs (as on 26 th January 2021)   | BTS added during the period March 2014 to 26th January 2021   | BTS added during the period March 2014 to 26th January 2021   |
|----------|------------------------|-------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | License Service Area   | Total (GSM, 3G, 4G-LTE)             | Total (GSM, 3G, 4G- LTE)                | Number of BTS added                                           | %age of BTS added                                             |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh         | 39935                               | 152291                                  | 112356                                                        | 281%                                                          |
| 16       | North-East             | 7542                                | 34281                                   | 26739                                                         | 355%                                                          |
| 17       | Odisha                 | 16416                               | 67971                                   | 51555                                                         | 314%                                                          |
| 18       | Punjab                 | 22079                               | 83574                                   | 61495                                                         | 279%                                                          |
| 19       | Rajasthan              | 30963                               | 123032                                  | 92069                                                         | 297%                                                          |
| 20       | Tamil Nadu             | 41685                               | 126716                                  | 85031                                                         | 204%                                                          |
| 21       | Uttar Pradesh (East)   | 45024                               | 163300                                  | 118276                                                        | 263%                                                          |
| 22       | Uttar Pradesh(West)    | 34291                               | 120169                                  | 85878                                                         | 250%                                                          |
| 23       | West Bengal            | 23065                               | 106879                                  | 83814                                                         | 363%                                                          |
| Total    | Total                  | 649834                              | 2266235                                 | 1616401                                                       | 249%                                                          |

## Growth of Tower

(From Dec'2015 to 26 th January 2021):

No. of Towers for mobile services: (in Dec'2015)

4,15,724

No. of Towers for mobile services: (as on 26 January 2021)

th

6,43,842

Towers added (during the period):

2,28,118

Percentage growth

55%

|   S. No. | License Service Area   |   Total Towers (Dec' 2015) |   Total Towers (as on 26.1.21) |   Towers added during the period | %of Towers added   |
|----------|------------------------|----------------------------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------|--------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh         |                      32058 |                          48119 |                            16061 | 50%                |
|        2 | Assam                  |                       9446 |                          15005 |                             5559 | 59%                |
|        3 | Bihar                  |                      27363 |                          49171 |                            21808 | 80%                |
|        4 | Chennai                |                      10773 |                          13090 |                             2317 | 22%                |
|        5 | Delhi                  |                      16496 |                          30367 |                            13871 | 84%                |
|        6 | Gujarat                |                      24367 |                          39239 |                            14872 | 61%                |
|        7 | Himachal Pradesh       |                       4869 |                           7533 |                             2664 | 55%                |
|        8 | Haryana                |                       9219 |                          14485 |                             5266 | 57%                |
|        9 | Jammu &Kashmir         |                       7841 |                          10295 |                             2454 | 31%                |
|       10 | Karnataka              |                      26438 |                          41968 |                            15530 | 59%                |
|       11 | Kolkata                |                       7854 |                          15564 |                             7710 | 98%                |
|       12 | Kerala                 |                      14520 |                          18665 |                             4145 | 29%                |
|       13 | Mumbai                 |                      13227 |                          17085 |                             3858 | 29%                |
|       14 | Maharashtra            |                      34254 |                          51108 |                            16854 | 49%                |
|       15 | Madhya Pradesh         |                      27458 |                          47109 |                            19651 | 72%                |
|       16 | North-East             |                       5383 |                          10058 |                             4675 | 87%                |
|       17 | Odisha                 |                      16932 |                          21309 |                             4377 | 26%                |
|       18 | Punjab                 |                      15339 |                          22275 |                             6936 | 45%                |

| 19    | Rajasthan         |   17592 |   34742 |   17150 | 97%   |
|-------|-------------------|---------|---------|---------|-------|
| 20    | Tamil Nadu        |   27016 |   34779 |    7763 | 29%   |
| 21    | Uttar Pradesh (E) |   29021 |   41805 |   12784 | 44%   |
| 22    | Uttar Pradesh(W)  |   21796 |   33384 |   11588 | 53%   |
| 23    | West Bengal       |   16462 |   26687 |   10225 | 62%   |
| Total | Total             |  415724 |  643842 |  228118 | 55%   |

## Government Schemes with the support of USOF

1. Mobile  Services  in  Uncovered  villages      and  seamless  coverage  along  National  Highway  of North-Eastern Region (Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) :

Under this scheme, Mobile connectivity is being provided by setting up    2004 towers in the 2128 uncovered villages and along National Highways of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) of North-East region. The Agreement was signed  on  08.12.2017  with  M/s  Bharti  Airtel  Limited  &  M/s  Bharti  Hexacom  Limited  and  about 1,350 sites are already providing services.

## 2. Mobile Services in Uncovered villages of Meghalaya and seamless coverage along National Highway:

The  project was approved by the Cabinet on 23.05.2018 and as per approval of Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the work has been awarded to M/s Bharti Hexacom Limited on    04.09.2020    for  provisioning  of  4G  mobile  services  in   1,164  uncovered  and  along  National Highways by installing 889 towers.  Project will be completed in 18 months since the award of work.

## 3. Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages of Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam:

As per Cabinet approval on 09.12.2020, provision of 4G mobile services in 2374 uncovered villages by installing 1533 towers in Arunachal Pradesh and two Districts of Assam (Karbi Anglong & Dima Hasao) will be carried out and  RFP is being floated.

4. 354 Uncovered Villages Scheme: Tender for provision of mobile service in 354 uncovered villages of J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Border areas and other  priority areas was awarded at a cost of Rs. 337 Crores and is under implementation by M/s Reliance Jio Infocomm.  The survey and tower installation is under progress and the project is likely to be completed by December, 2021.

## 5. Aspirational Districts Scheme

- (a) A  Scheme  for 502  uncovered  villages  of  Aspirational  District  over  four  States (namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan) for provisioning of 4G based Mobile services has been finalized.  Letter of Intent (LoI) and agreement is under process.
- (b) A  scheme  for  7,287  uncovered  villages  is  under  Cabinet  approval  for  provisioning  of  4G  based Mobile service in 44 Aspirational Districts of 5 States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha at an estimated cost of Rs. 6,466 Crore.

## 6. Provision of 4G Mobile Coverage in Uncovered Villages and seamless 4G Mobile coverage of NH223 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands:

DCC in its meeting held on 20.12.2019 approved a proposal for setting up of 82 towers to provide mobile services on 4G Technology in identified 85 uncovered villages and 42 towers for providing 4G  mobile  services  to  bridge  the  gaps  in  mobile  connectivity  along  NH-223.  The  RFP  has  been finalised and work is likely to be awarded shortly.

## 7. Shared Mobile Infrastructure Scheme:

A scheme was launched to provide subsidy support for setting up and managing infrastructure sites/ towers for provision of mobile services in the specified rural and remote areas, where there was no existing  fixed  wireless  or  mobile  coverage.  The  agreements,  signed  with  the  successful  bidders  in May 2007, were effective from 01.06.2007.  A total number of 7,317 towers and 16,254 BTSs (Base Transceiver Stations) have been set up and the project is completed.

## 8. Scheme for Mobile Communication Services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Affected Areas:-

## (i) LWE Phase-I:

(a) On 20.08.2014, the Cabinet approved the implementation of the project in  LWE areas at a cost of Rs. 3567.58 crore to provide Mobile Services in the 10 affected States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.  The project has been completed by installing 2343 towers.

(b) 4G Upgradation of existing LWE-I sites is under consideration for the sites which are not yet covered by 4G.

## (ii) LWE Phase II:

The Cabinet approved on 23.05.2018 a proposal for Phase II of the project in   LWE affected areas with a subsidy support of Rs. 7330 crores.  The project has been subsequently approved for 2,542 towers to provide 4G mobile services and the RFP is under approval for floating at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,200 Cr.   Retendering is under process for 2542 number of tower sites. DCC approval for the same has been obtained on 01.12.2020.

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