Lok Sabha Question No. 253 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Bharat Broadband Network
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Arvind Kumar Sharma, Bharatiben Dhirubhai Shyal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 253 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2021

## BHARAT BROADBAND NETWORK

- *253. DR. ARVIND KUMAR SHARMA: DR. BHARATIBEN DHIRUBHAI SHIYAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether capacity utilisation of large and high capacity optical fibre network created by Bharat Broadband Network, is still not optimal;
- (b) if so, the steps taken to address this;
- (c) the details of the outcome of efforts to increase capacity utilization;
- (d) whether efforts are being made by the Government to improve the internet speed and its quality in the country, as Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, October 2021, highlights that India ranks 122, out of 141, in the global mobile internet speed rankings;
- (e) if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS & ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (f) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to (f) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 253 FOR 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2021 REGARDING 'BHARAT BROADBAND NETWORK'

(a) to (c) BharatNet project is implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity  to  all  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  in  the  country.  Bharat  Broadband  Network Limited (BBNL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Department of Telecommunications, is  the  Executing  Agency  for  the  project.  The  scope  of  BharatNet  on 30.06.2021 was extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country and the Union Cabinet accorded approval for a revised strategy  for implementation of BharatNet through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in 16 States of the country covering about 3.61 lakh villages,  which  will  harness  private  sector  capabilities  for  execution,  maintenance  and utilization of network for delivery of services.

As proper functioning of Network is required for its effective utilization, the network is monitored through Network Operating Centre (NOC) and its reports are being monitored on a regular basis.

The infrastructure created under BharatNet project is a national asset, accessible on a non-discriminatory  basis  to  the  Service  Providers,  and  the  same  can  be  utilized  for provisioning  of  broadband/internet  services  through        Wi-Fi  Hotspots,  Fibre  to  the  Home (FTTH) connections, leased lines, dark fibre, backhaul to mobile towers, etc.

As on 30.11.2021,  a  total  number  of  1,67,156  GPs  are  made  Service  Ready  in  the country.  4218  Gbps  of  bandwidth  and  31,144  km  of  dark  fibre  have  been  leased  from BharatNet network.

(d) to (f) Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  has  been  monitoring  the performance  of  service  providers  against  the  benchmarks  for  various  Quality  of  Service parameters,  through  Quarterly  Performance  Monitoring  Reports  (PMRs),  submitted  by Service Providers.

Major steps taken by the Department to improve the internet speed, as envisioned in National  Digital  Communications  Policy  -  2018  issued  in  October  2018  with  the  missions which inter-alia  includes  provisioning  of  Universal  Broadband  connectivity  at  50  Mbps  to every citizen, as below:

- I. The number of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) of 4G technology has increased to 16.47 lakh in November 2021 from almost negligible numbers in 2014.
- II. The Department has launched National Broadband Mission on 17.12.2019 with a vision  to  fast-track  growth  of  digital  communications  infrastructure,  through fiberisation of towers, raising the Telecom Tower density and thereby providing affordable and Universal access of broadband to all.
- III. The Department is implementing various schemes for expansion of internet/broadband services in rural and remote  areas, with funding  from Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund.  The  list  of  major  schemes  is  given  in Annexure-I .

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in Parts (d) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 253 for answer on 15.12.2021

The Government has the following major schemes for expansion of internet/broadband services in rural and remote areas of the country with support from Universal Service Obligation Fund:

1. BharatNet project to create network to connect all the Gram Panchayats (approximately 2.6 lakh) with broadband in the country. The scope of BharatNet on 30.06.2021 was extended upto all inhabited villages beyond GPs in the country.
2. Provision of 4G mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas under Phase-II
3. Provision  of  Mobile  Services  in  Uncovered  villages  in  Assam,  Manipur,  Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) of NER and seamless coverage along National Highway
4. Provision  of  4G  Mobile  Services  in  Uncovered  villages  of  Meghalaya  and  seamless coverage along National Highway
5. Provision of 4G Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages of Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam
6. Hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from BSCCL, Bangladesh via Cox Bazar
7. Provision of mobile connectivity in 354 uncovered villages of J&K, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Rajasthan,  Gujarat,  Uttarakhand,  Border  area  &  other priority areas
8. Provision of 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States (namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan)
9. Remaining 7,287 Aspirational District villages (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha) for provision of mobile services
10. Provision of 4G Mobile Coverage in 85 uncovered Villages and seamless 4G Mobile coverage of NH223 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
11. Laying  of  submarine  optical  fibre  cable  between  Chennai  and  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands
12. Submarine  OFC  Connectivity  between  Mainland  India  (Kochi)  and  Lakshadweep Islands
13. Public Wi-Fi hotspots at the 25,000 rural telephone exchanges of BSNL

*******