Lok Sabha Question No. 1111 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Mobile Connectivity
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Anumula Revanth Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1111 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH  FEBRUARY, 2023

## MOBILE CONNECTIVITY

## 1111.   SHRI ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that more than 25,000 villages lack mobile connectivity, if so, the details of such villages with the reasons thereof;

(b) whether it is a fact that out of all the Government WiFi hotspots installed in the country, only 51 per cent of them provide service, if so, the details thereof;

- (c) the time by which he remaining installed WiFi will start providing services; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to increase the internet connectivity among the villages apart from BharatNet Project?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS

## (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) As per data received from Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), Department of Telecom's field unit and State Governments as of March '2022, out of 6,44,131 villages (villages are as per data of Registrar General of India as of November 2019) in the country, around 6,05,230 villages are having mobile connectivity and 38,901 villages are not having any mobile coverage. The State/UT-wise details of the uncovered villages are attached as Annexure-I. The reasons for not having mobile coverage in these villages include, inter-alia, remote and tough terrain, areas diversely located with scattered  population  and  commercially  non-viable operations. Government through funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) is implementing various schemes for providing mobile coverage in remaining uncovered villages of the country.

(b) & (c) As  on  date,  Wi-Fi  Access  Points  have  been  installed  in  1,04,664  GPs.  The operationability/availability  of  Wi-Fi  hotspot  depends  on  the  multiple  factors  like  availability  of internet bandwidth, power, etc.

Also, Broadband connections in rural areas are also being provided through 108 revenue share agreements signed by BBNL and over 2,614 revenue share agreements signed by BSNL under Franchisee Management System (FMS). The modem installed for providing broadband services are also working as Wi-Fi hotspot for those premises.

Further, PM WANI framework aims to accelerate proliferation of internet services by setting up  public  Wi-Fi  Access  points  in  the  country  with  the  objective  of  building  digital  India  and consequential benefit thereon. Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) registered under the PM

WANI  framework  set  up  Public Wi-Fi Access Points based on their techno-commercial considerations.

In  addition,  entities  having  License  for  providing  Internet Service  /  Unified  License  with Authorization for providing Internet Service, provide internet service in their respective Licensed service areas based on their techno-commercial considerations.

(d) Government and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) provide telecommunication connectivity in the country in a phased manner. Government through funding from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) is implementing various schemes for providing internet coverage in the villages of the country.  Details  of  schemes/projects  apart  from  the  BharatNet  Project  to  improve  the  internet connectivity across the country are as below:

- Saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages across the country. The estimated project cost is Rs. 26,316 Cr.
- Provision of 4G mobile services in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas Phase-II. The estimated project cost is Rs. 2,211 Cr.
- Upgradation from 2G to 4G mobile technology of all LWE Phase-I sites. The estimated project cost is Rs. 2,425 Cr.
- Provision  of  4G  Mobile  Services  in  North  Eastern  Region  of  the  country  under Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Program  for  NER.  The  estimated  cost  for schemes is Rs. 3,637 Cr.
- Provision  of  4G  mobile  connectivity  in  7,287  Aspirational  District  villages  (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha) and provision of 4G mobile connectivity in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts in four States (namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan). The estimated cost for projects is Rs. 7,152 Cr.
- Provision  of  4G  mobile  connectivity  in  354  uncovered  villages  of  J&K,  Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Border area & other priority areas. The estimated project cost is Rs. 337 Cr.
- Provision of 4G Mobile Coverage in 85 uncovered Villages and seamless 4G Mobile coverage of NH223 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The estimated project cost is Rs. 130 Cr.
- Laying  of  submarine  optical  fibre  cable  between  Chennai  and  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands for providing connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Submarine OFC connectivity between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands.

## Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1111 to be answered on 08 th  February 2023 raised by Hon'ble Member of Parliament regarding 'Mobile Connectivity'

State/UT-wise status of mobile uncovered villages of country (as of March'2022) is as below:

| Sr. No.   | State/UT Name                         | Total no. of Villages as per RGI Data(as of Nov'2019)   | No. of mobile uncovered villages   |
|-----------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman & Nicobar Islands             | 559                                                     | 261                                |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                        | 17328                                                   | 2971                               |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                     | 5993                                                    | 3081                               |
| 4         | Assam                                 | 26429                                                   | 2083                               |
| 5         | Bihar                                 | 44888                                                   | 254                                |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh                          | 20072                                                   | 1887                               |
| 7         | Chandigarh                            | NA                                                      | NA                                 |
| 8         | Dadra and Nagar Haveli &Daman and Diu | 95                                                      | 33                                 |
| 9         | Goa                                   | 392                                                     | 41                                 |
| 10        | Gujarat                               | 18425                                                   | 567                                |
| 11        | Haryana                               | 6640                                                    | 7                                  |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                      | 20852                                                   | 1482                               |
| 13        | Jammu and Kashmir                     | 6474                                                    | 822                                |
| 14        | Jharkhand                             | 32370                                                   | 2072                               |
| 15        | Karnataka                             | 29818                                                   | 1121                               |
| 16        | Kerala                                | 1438                                                    | 53                                 |
| 17        | Ladakh                                | 243                                                     | 119                                |
| 18        | Lakshadweep                           | 27                                                      | 4                                  |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh                        | 55058                                                   | 3092                               |
| 20        | Maharashtra                           | 43931                                                   | 3121                               |
| 21        | Manipur                               | 2612                                                    | 470                                |
| 22        | Meghalaya                             | 7100                                                    | 2428                               |
| 23        | Mizoram                               | 867                                                     | 241                                |
| 24        | Nagaland                              | 1535                                                    | 420                                |
| 25        | NCT of Delhi                          | 55                                                      | 0                                  |
| 26        | Odisha                                | 51176                                                   | 6592                               |
| 27        | Puducherry                            | 96                                                      | 1                                  |
| 28        | Punjab                                | 12534                                                   | 10                                 |
| 29        | Rajasthan                             | 46077                                                   | 3316                               |
| 30        | Sikkim                                | 461                                                     | 304                                |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                            | 16488                                                   | 384                                |
| 32        | Telangana                             | 10203                                                   | 203                                |
| 33        | Tripura                               | 937                                                     | 299                                |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                         | 105531                                                  | 274                                |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                           | 16456                                                   | 755                                |
| 36        | West Bengal                           | 40971                                                   | 133                                |
| Total     | Total                                 | 644131                                                  | 38901                              |

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