Lok Sabha Question No. 1431 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-10
Subject: Mobile Network Coverage
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1431 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2021

## MOBILE NETWORK COVERAGE

## 1431.   COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  national  and  State-wise  percentage  share  of  BSNL  and  other  private  Telecom  Service Providers (TSPs) with respect to mobile network coverage;
- (b) the number of panchayats which do not have mobile connectivity or network coverage in the State of Rajasthan, district-wise and the reasons therefor along with the measure/initiative taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) the  time  by  which  all  rural  areas  of  the  country  is  likely  to  have  hundred  percent  network coverage and telecom access and the measures taken by the Government in this regard; State/UTwise?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The percentage share of wireless (mobile) subscribers of BSNL and private Telecom Service Providers  (TSPs)  in  their  respective  License  Service  Areas  (LSAs)  consisting  of  State/UTs  in  the country is detailed at Annexure-I .
- (b) 131 number of Gram Panchayats in Rajasthan do not have mobile connectivity, details of which are given in Annexure-II . Mobile coverage in uncovered villages in the country is being provided by the Government and TSPs in a phased manner. TSPs install new mobile towers and BTSs to improve coverage and/or capacity of their networks based on their techno-commercial assessments.
- (c) Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has estimated that as per survey carried out in 2020, around  5,72,551  villages  out  of  5,97,618  inhabited  villages  in  the  country  have  mobile  coverage. State/UT-wise  details  are  given  in Annexure-III .  25,067  inhabited  villages  do  not  have  mobile coverage. 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 (approx. 2.5 Lakh) in the country. As on 27.01.2021, a total number of 1,51,431 Gram Panchayats (including Block Headquarters) have been made Service Ready under the project.
-  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.

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.

Annexure referred  to  in  reply  of  para  (a)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1431  to  be answered on 10 th  February, 2021 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, regarding 'Mobile Network Coverage'

LSA-wise Percentage Share of Mobile Subscribers of BSNL and Private TSPs

| Sr. No.   | Service area         | Number of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers of   | Number of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers of   | Percentage share of BSNL to Total Subscribers   | Percentage share of private TSPs to Total Subscribers   |
|-----------|----------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Sr. No.   | Service area         | BSNL                                         | Private TSPs                                 | Percentage share of BSNL to Total Subscribers   | Percentage share of private TSPs to Total Subscribers   |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh       | 9676241                                      | 77797833                                     | 11.06%                                          | 88.94%                                                  |
| 2         | Assam                | 2935442                                      | 20936548                                     | 12.30%                                          | 87.70%                                                  |
| 3         | Bihar                | 5929468                                      | 78718976                                     | 7.00%                                           | 93.00%                                                  |
| 4         | Delhi                | 0                                            | 50675735                                     | 0.00%                                           | 95.89%                                                  |
| 5         | Gujarat              | 6111937                                      | 61462644                                     | 9.04%                                           | 90.96%                                                  |
| 6         | Haryana              | 5061105                                      | 22428090                                     | 18.41%                                          | 81.59%                                                  |
| 7         | Himachal Pradesh     | 3004030                                      | 7971752                                      | 27.37%                                          | 72.63%                                                  |
| 8         | Jammu &Kashmir       | 1262324                                      | 10424337                                     | 10.80%                                          | 89.20%                                                  |
| 9         | Karnataka            | 7257169                                      | 60085810                                     | 10.78%                                          | 89.22%                                                  |
| 10        | Kerala               | 10958555                                     | 33537986                                     | 24.63%                                          | 75.37%                                                  |
| 11        | Kolkata              | 2406445                                      | 23719453                                     | 9.21%                                           | 90.79%                                                  |
| 12        | Madhya Pradesh       | 6310134                                      | 70406333                                     | 8.23%                                           | 91.77%                                                  |
| 13        | Maharashtra          | 6900110                                      | 86031039                                     | 7.42%                                           | 92.58%                                                  |
| 14        | Mumbai               | 0                                            | 34465177                                     | 0.00%                                           | 96.76%                                                  |
| 15        | North East           | 1366299                                      | 10769367                                     | 11.26%                                          | 88.74%                                                  |
| 16        | Odisha               | 6372565                                      | 26980047                                     | 19.11%                                          | 80.89%                                                  |
| 17        | Punjab               | 5834048                                      | 33195224                                     | 14.95%                                          | 85.05%                                                  |
| 18        | Rajasthan            | 6358278                                      | 58728059                                     | 9.77%                                           | 90.23%                                                  |
| 19        | Tamil Nadu           | 11296724                                     | 69194938                                     | 14.03%                                          | 85.97%                                                  |
| 20        | Uttar Pradesh (East) | 11644315                                     | 86484730                                     | 11.87%                                          | 88.13%                                                  |
| 21        | Uttar Pradesh (West) | 5878650                                      | 56485944                                     | 9.43%                                           | 90.57%                                                  |
| 22        | West Bengal          | 2398253                                      | 52409717                                     | 4.38%                                           | 95.62%                                                  |

Source : TRAI website, www.trai.gov.in

Annexure referred to in reply  of  para  (b)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1431  to  be answered on 10 th  February, 2021 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, regarding 'Mobile Network Coverage'

| District-wise Number of Gram Panchyats(GP) in Rajasthan where mobile coverage is not availiable   | District-wise Number of Gram Panchyats(GP) in Rajasthan where mobile coverage is not availiable   | District-wise Number of Gram Panchyats(GP) in Rajasthan where mobile coverage is not availiable   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.No.                                                                                             | Name of District                                                                                  | No. of GPs with no mobile coverage                                                                |
| 1                                                                                                 | Alwar                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                 |
| 2                                                                                                 | Banswara                                                                                          | 2                                                                                                 |
| 3                                                                                                 | Baran                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                 |
| 4                                                                                                 | Barmer                                                                                            | 22                                                                                                |
| 5                                                                                                 | Bhilwara                                                                                          | 1                                                                                                 |
| 6                                                                                                 | Bikaner                                                                                           | 6                                                                                                 |
| 7                                                                                                 | Bundi                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                 |
| 8                                                                                                 | Chittaurgarh                                                                                      | 6                                                                                                 |
| 9                                                                                                 | Churu                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                 |
| 10                                                                                                | Dhaulpur                                                                                          | 4                                                                                                 |
| 11                                                                                                | Dungarpur                                                                                         | 2                                                                                                 |
| 12                                                                                                | Ganganagar                                                                                        | 2                                                                                                 |
| 13                                                                                                | Jaipur                                                                                            | 1                                                                                                 |
| 14                                                                                                | Jaisalmer                                                                                         | 23                                                                                                |
| 15                                                                                                | Jalor                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                 |
| 16                                                                                                | Jodhpur                                                                                           | 7                                                                                                 |
| 17                                                                                                | Karauli                                                                                           | 5                                                                                                 |
| 18                                                                                                | Pali                                                                                              | 2                                                                                                 |
| 19                                                                                                | Pratapgarh                                                                                        | 4                                                                                                 |
| 20                                                                                                | Sikar                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                 |
| 21                                                                                                | Sirohi                                                                                            | 6                                                                                                 |
| 22                                                                                                | Tonk                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                 |
| 23                                                                                                | Udaipur                                                                                           | 29                                                                                                |
|                                                                                                   | Grand Total                                                                                       | 131                                                                                               |

Annexure referred  to  in  reply  of  para  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  1431  to  be answered on 10 th  February, 2021 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, regarding 'Mobile Network Coverage'

## State/UT-wise number of inhabited villages with mobile network coverage

| S.No.   | State/ UT Name      | Number of inhabited villages as per census 2011   | Number of inhabited villages with mobile connectivity as per 2020 data   |
|---------|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andaman &Nicobar    | 396                                               | 245                                                                      |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh      | 16158                                             | 14371                                                                    |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh   | 5258                                              | 3035                                                                     |
| 4       | Assam               | 25372                                             | 24756                                                                    |
| 5       | Bihar               | 39073                                             | 38828                                                                    |
| 6       | Chandigarh          | 5                                                 | 5                                                                        |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh        | 19567                                             | 17720                                                                    |
| 8       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli | 65                                                | 65                                                                       |
| 9       | Daman &Diu          | 19                                                | 19                                                                       |
| 10      | Delhi               | 103                                               | 103                                                                      |
| 11      | Goa                 | 320                                               | 292                                                                      |
| 12      | Gujarat             | 17843                                             | 17331                                                                    |
| 13      | Haryana             | 6642                                              | 6642                                                                     |
| 14      | Himachal Pradesh    | 17882                                             | 17499                                                                    |
| 15      | Jammu &Kashmir      | 6101                                              | 5947                                                                     |
| 16      | Jharkhand           | 29492                                             | 28348                                                                    |
| 17      | Karnataka           | 27397                                             | 26956                                                                    |
| 18      | Kerala              | 1017                                              | 1017                                                                     |
| 19      | Ladakh              | 236                                               | 172                                                                      |
| 20      | Lakshadweep         | 6                                                 | 5                                                                        |
| 21      | Madhya Pradesh      | 51929                                             | 49317                                                                    |
| 22      | Maharashtra         | 40959                                             | 38631                                                                    |
| 23      | Manipur             | 2515                                              | 2052                                                                     |
| 24      | Meghalaya           | 6459                                              | 4785                                                                     |
| 25      | Mizoram             | 704                                               | 498                                                                      |
| 26      | Nagaland            | 1400                                              | 1256                                                                     |
| 27      | Odisha              | 47677                                             | 41578                                                                    |
| 28      | Punjab              | 12168                                             | 12168                                                                    |
| 29      | Puducherry          | 90                                                | 90                                                                       |
| 30      | Rajasthan           | 43264                                             | 42323                                                                    |
| 31      | Sikkim              | 425                                               | 415                                                                      |
| 32      | Tamil Nadu          | 15049                                             | 15000                                                                    |
| 33      | Telangana           | 10128                                             | 9975                                                                     |
| 34      | Tripura             | 863                                               | 832                                                                      |
| 35      | Uttarakhand         | 15745                                             | 97486                                                                    |
| 36      | Uttar Pradesh       | 97813                                             | 15319                                                                    |
| 37      | West Bengal         | 37478                                             | 37470                                                                    |
|         | TOTAL               | 5,97,618                                          | 5,72,551                                                                 |

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