Lok Sabha Question No. 226 (STARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: High Speed Internet Services in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 226 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS

†*226. SHRI SANJAY JADHAV:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any measures to expedite the access of high speed internet connectivity in the villages across the country to ensure quality internet connectivity for the students in rural areas attending online classes;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government for qualitative upgradation of internet connectivity in the villages;
- (d) the  number  of  villages  in  Parbhani  district  of  Maharashtra  where  broadband  internet connectivity is already available along with the number of villages in the district where high speed broadband internet connectivity is yet to be provided; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  provide  high  speed  internet  services  to  students  at affordable/ subsidized rates, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

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

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to  (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  226  FOR  10 TH   MARCH,  2021 REGARDING 'HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS'.

(a) to (c) High speed internet facility is being provided in rural areas by the Government and the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) through 3G/4G wireless mobile and fixed wireline broadband. To have a comprehensive and objective data about availability of 3G & 4G services in villages, all the Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  were  directed  to  collect  the  data  village-wise  &  furnish  to  the Department. From the said data, it is estimated that out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages (as per Census 2011) in the country, a total number of 5,58,537 villages have 3G or 4G mobile wireless coverage.

This estimate is further reinforced by the extraordinary four times rise in number of smartphones in  India from 16.5 crore in year 2014 to 70 crore in year 2020. It is gathered  that good number of these smartphones are also in the hinterland. Similarly, data usage has increased 130 times from 89.4 MB per subscriber per month in year 2014 to 12.1 GB per subscriber per month in year 2020. Government  of  India  is  also  implementing  BharatNet  project  to  provide  broadband/high  speed internet  connectivity  to  all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs)  (approx.  2,50,000)  in  the  country.  As  on 26.02.2021, a total number of 1,54,096 GPs including Block Head Quarters (BHQs)have been made service ready with broadband infrastructure.

As part of the BharatNet project, the last mile connectivity is being provided through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, including Fibre to the Home (FTTH). In the 1.23 lakh GPs (approx.) of BharatNet Phase-I, the provisioning of Wi-Fi Services in about 1.10 lakh GPs has been assigned to CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (a Special Purpose Vehicle under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology), and in about 10,000 GPs to Government of  Rajasthan/Raj COMP Info Services Ltd. (RISL), etc.

So  far,  by  utilising  the  BharatNet  network,  Wi-Fi  hotspots  have  been  installed  at  1,03,400 GPs, and 4,95,078Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections have been provided.

(d)     In  Parbhani  district  of  Maharashtra,  out  of  830  villages  (as  per  Census  2011),  a  total  of  809 villages  have  broadband  internet  connectivity  using  3G  or  4G  mobile  wireless  coverage.  Further, under BharatNet, 307 GPs out of total of 708 GPs have been made service ready and the remaining are under implementation.

(e) As  per  TRAI's  Indian  Telecom  Services  Performance  Indicators  report  dated  21 st January 2021, the average per GB wireless data cost is Rs 10.95.However various Service Providers are free to offer special tariff plans for different segments of customers including students.

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