Lok Sabha Question No. 2805 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-03
Subject: Unsatisfactory Internet Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Rajendra Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2805 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 RD  AUGUST, 2022

## UNSATISFACTORY INTERNET SERVICES

## †2805. SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that mobile and internet services along with other telecommunication services are not satisfactory in the rural areas of the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the names of the areas in Uttar Pradesh having poor telecom services along with the reaction of the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to improve the situation in such areas and whether any steps have been taken by the Government in this regard and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government is considering on any scheme of installing mobile towers at various places as per the demand and requirements of mobile facility in Meerut Parliamentary Constituency; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof, place-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) to (e) As per data, 6,44,131 villages are in the country, out of which 6,05,379 are covered and 14,072 are in process of being covered. Union Cabinet on 27.07.2022 approved for connecting 24,680 villages for 4G saturation with 20% extra margin for any left over villages due to various reasons and 6,279 villages  having  2G/3G connectivity are to be upgraded to 4G. This is in addition to various Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) schemes like Aspirational Districts, Left Wing Extremism (LWE), etc.

About 320 uncovered villages out of 1,05,531 villages in Uttar Pradesh will be covered under existing USOF schemes, 4G saturation project and TSPs. District-wise details of these uncovered villages is at Annexure-I.

The  Government  through  various  schemes/projects  under  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund (USOF) is providing telecommunication services in uncovered inhabited villages in the country including Uttar  Pradesh  in  a  phased  manner.  BharatNet  project  is  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country. The scope of BharatNet has been recently extended up to all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country.

Around 6,926 number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) installed by TSPs, are providing mobile network coverage in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh. However, new Mobile Towers and BTSs are installed by TSPs to improve coverage and capacity of their networks based on their techno-commercial assessments from time to time.

Annexure referred to in reply of para (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2805 to be answered on 3 rd  August, 2022 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Rajendra Agrawal, regarding 'Unsatisfactory Internet Services'.

## District-wise list of uncovered villages in Uttar Pradesh under USOF Scheme and TSPs

| District Name   |   Number of Uncovered Villages |
|-----------------|--------------------------------|
| Agra            |                              5 |
| Auraiya         |                              7 |
| Bahraich        |                             12 |
| Balrampur       |                             20 |
| Bijnor          |                             43 |
| Budaun          |                              5 |
| Chandauli       |                             13 |
| Chitrakoot      |                             22 |
| Etawah          |                              4 |
| Farrukhabad     |                              1 |
| Hamirpur        |                              1 |
| Jalaun          |                              4 |
| Jhansi          |                              7 |
| Kasganj         |                              1 |
| Kheri           |                             40 |
| Lalitpur        |                             24 |
| Mahoba          |                              8 |
| Mahrajganj      |                              2 |
| Mathura         |                              1 |
| Meerut          |                              1 |
| Mirzapur        |                             13 |
| Muzaffarnagar   |                              2 |
| Pilibhit        |                             10 |
| Prayagraj       |                              1 |
| Rampur          |                              3 |
| Saharanpur      |                              1 |
| Sambhal         |                              4 |
| Shahjahanpur    |                              1 |
| Shrawasti       |                              4 |
| Sitapur         |                              1 |
| Sonbhadra       |                             59 |
| Grand Total     |                            320 |

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