Lok Sabha Question No. 583 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-20
Subject: Public Wifi Hotspots
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Bheemrao Baswanthrao Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 583 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  JULY, 2022

## PUBLIC WIFI HOTSPOTS

## 583. SHRI B.B.PATIL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the funds allocated under the BharatNet project for setting up of public WiFi hotspots;
- (b) the number of public WiFi hotspots set up in rural areas under the Bharatnet project, State-wise, including Telangana;
- (c) whether the Government has any data on usage of such WiFi hotspots by rural public and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government is planning to set up such hotspots in more public areas in the rural regions and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) As per the Cabinet approval dated 19.07.2017, Rs. 4,066 crore has been approved for providing Last Mile Connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, at all Gram Panchayats (GPs) of BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II.

- (b) The  State/UT-wise  details  of  the  Wi-Fi  hotspots,  installed  at  GPs  in  the  country  including Telangana, from BharatNet network, are given in Annexure-I.
- (c) During May 2022, the total data consumption, including that of Wi-Fi hotspots, was 2138 Terabyte (TB) through BharatNet network.

(d) The infrastructure created under BharatNet project 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.

The work of providing Wi-Fi hotspots in about 1.20 lakh GPs of BharatNet Phase-I, about 5500 GPs of BharatNet Phase-II (being connected on satellite media), and at about 1400 Digital Satellite Phone Terminals (set up at Government offices/institutions in remote areas) is implemented with funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

For  BharatNet  Phase-II  (being  implemented  on  OFC/Radio),  the  respective  Implementing Agencies are responsible for the utilisation of the created network.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in Part (b) of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 583 to be answered on 20.07.2022

## State/UT wise number of GPs where Wi-Fi hotspots installed

| S. No.   | State/UT                          | No. of GPs where Wi-Fi hotspots installed   |
|----------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh                    | 1570                                        |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh                 | 319                                         |
| 3        | Bihar                             | 5344                                        |
| 4        | Chandigarh                        | 12                                          |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh                      | 3655                                        |
| 6        | Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 36                                          |
| 7        | Gujarat                           | 3954                                        |
| 8        | Haryana                           | 5955                                        |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh                  | 252                                         |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir                    | 986                                         |
| 11       | Jharkhand                         | 2383                                        |
| 12       | Karnataka                         | 5306                                        |
| 13       | Kerala                            | 977                                         |
| 14       | Ladakh                            | 172                                         |
| 15       | Madhya Pradesh                    | 11537                                       |
| 16       | Maharashtra                       | 11014                                       |
| 17       | Manipur                           | 161                                         |
| 18       | Meghalaya                         | 70                                          |
| 19       | Odisha                            | 2511                                        |
| 20       | Puducherry                        | 81                                          |
| 21       | Punjab                            | 7887                                        |
| 22       | Rajasthan                         | 8064                                        |
| 23       | Telangana                         | 1995                                        |
| 24       | Tripura                           | 574                                         |
| 25       | Uttar Pradesh                     | 26855                                       |
| 26       | Uttarakhand                       | 1251                                        |
| 27       | West Bengal                       | 1372                                        |
| Total    | Total                             | 1,04,293                                    |

****

****