Lok Sabha Question No. 2868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: Mobile Internet Accessibility
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2868 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  DECEMBER, 2021

## MOBILE INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY

## 2868.   SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether mobile internet accessibility is poor in rural India;
- (b) if so, the details thereof as compared to urban areas; and

(c) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  promote  use  and accessibility of mobile internet in rural areas of the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on the basis of a survey carried out in 2020, has estimated that about 5,72,551 villages out of 5,97,618 inhabited census villages (as per Census - 2011) of the country have mobile network coverage. Out of 5,72,551 mobile covered  villages  in  the  country,  5,58,537  villages  have  high  speed  mobile  internet  through 3G/4G technology.

The total number of mobile internet subscribers in the country as on 30th September 2021 is 808.54 Millions. Out of this, the number of mobile internet subscribers in the rural areas is 334.33 Millions and the number of mobile internet subscribers in the urban areas is 474.22 Millions. Thus, 41.35% of total mobile internet subscribers are in rural areas and 58.65 % in urban areas.  In this regard, License Service area (LSA) - wise data of rural/urban mobile internet subscribers as on 30th Sept. 2021, as reported by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), is at Annexure-I.

(c) The Government has the following schemes for expansion of mobile internet in rural and remote areas of the country with support from Universal Service Obligation Fund:

- i. Provision  of  mobile  services  in  Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE)  affected  areas  under Phase-I
- ii. Provision of 4G mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas under Phase-II

- iii. 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
- iv. Provision of 4G Mobile Services in Uncovered villages of Meghalaya and seamless coverage along National Highway
- v. Provision of 4G Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages of Arunachal Pradesh and 2 Districts of Assam
- vi. 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
- vii. Provision  of  4G  mobile  connectivity  in  502  uncovered  villages  of  Aspirational Districts in four States (namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan)
- viii. Provision of 4G mobile connectivity in remaining 7,287 Aspirational District villages (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha)
- ix. Provision of 4G Mobile Coverage in 85 uncovered Villages and seamless 4G Mobile coverage of  NH-4 (earlier NH-223) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Annexure referred to in reply of paras (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2868 to be answered on 15 th  December, 2021 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament Shri Rahul Kaswan, regarding 'Mobile Internet Accessibility'

## LSA-wise Data of Rural/Urban Mobile Internet Subscribers as on 30 th  Sept. 2021

[Subscribers in Millions]

| License Service Area (LSA)   |   Rural Mobile Internet Subscribers |   Urban Mobile Internet Subscribers |   Total Mobile Internet Subscribers |
|------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh               |                               28.42 |                               33.01 |                               61.43 |
| Assam                        |                                9.73 |                                6.24 |                               15.97 |
| Bihar                        |                               36.51 |                               20.94 |                               57.45 |
| Delhi                        |                                0.79 |                               41.4  |                               42.19 |
| Gujarat                      |                               16.17 |                               33.25 |                               49.43 |
| Haryana                      |                                8.14 |                               10.29 |                               18.44 |
| Himachal Pradesh             |                                4.25 |                                2.23 |                                6.49 |
| Jammu& Kashmir               |                                3.77 |                                4.38 |                                8.14 |
| Karnataka                    |                               18.29 |                               29.45 |                               47.73 |
| Kerala                       |                               12.89 |                               15.72 |                               28.61 |
| Kolkata                      |                                1.25 |                               15.89 |                               17.15 |
| Madhya Pradesh               |                               24.04 |                               32.59 |                               56.62 |
| Maharashtra                  |                               29.93 |                               39.51 |                               69.44 |
| Mumbai                       |                                1.12 |                               27.24 |                               28.37 |
| North East                   |                                4.65 |                                4.19 |                                8.84 |
| Odisha                       |                               14.33 |                                7.26 |                               21.59 |
| Punjab                       |                                9.12 |                               17.65 |                               26.77 |
| Rajasthan                    |                               22.2  |                               22.61 |                               44.8  |
| Tamil Nadu                   |                               15.82 |                               39.29 |                               55.12 |
| UP (East)                    |                               35.44 |                               27.8  |                               63.24 |
| UP (West)                    |                               17.19 |                               24.67 |                               41.86 |
| West Bengal                  |                               20.27 |                               18.61 |                               38.87 |
| Total                        |                              334.33 |                              474.22 |                              808.54 |

Note:  This  information  is  compiled  by  TRAI  based  on  the  reports  being  received  from Internet Service Providers.

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