Lok Sabha Question No. 217 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Districts Deprived of 4G Network
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Ravi Kishan Shukla, Ravindra Kushawaha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No. 217 FOR ANSWER ON 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## DISTRICTS DEPRIVED OF 4G NETWORK

| †*217.   | SHRI RAVI KISHAN: SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA:                                                                   |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (a)      | whether many districts in the country are still deprived of 4G network;                                     |
| (b)      | if so, the details thereof;                                                                                 |
| (c)      | the number of districts deprived of 4G network in other States including Uttar Pradesh; and                 |
| (d)      | the time by which 4G services will reach the said deprived districts and villages completely?               |
|          | ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS& ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) |

## STATEMENT  TO  BE  LAID  ON  THE  TABLE  OF  LOK  SABHA  IN  RESPECT  OF PARTS  (a)  to  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  217  FOR  21 st DECEMBER, 2022 REGARDING 'DISTRICTS DEPRIVED OF 4G NETWORK'

(a)  to  (c)          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 5,98,951 (93%) villages are having 4G mobile network and 45,180 number of villages are not having  4G  mobile  coverage.  In  the  State  of  Uttar  Pradesh,  out  of  1,05,531  villages,  around 1,05,146  (99%)  villages  are  covered  with  4G  mobile  network.  The  State/UT-wise  details  are attached as Annexure-I .

(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 mobile network coverage  in  all  uncovered  villages  of  the  country.  The  major  USOF  schemes  for  4G  mobile coverage 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. 2211 Cr.
-  Upgradation from 2G to 4G mobile technology of all LWE Phase-I sites. The estimated project cost is Rs. 2425 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. 3637 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. 7152 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.

## Annexure-I

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  of  part  (a)  to  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  *217  to  be answered on 21/12/2022 raised by Hon'ble Members of Parliament regarding 'Districts deprived of 4G Network'

State/UT-wise status of 4G coverage in the villages of country (as of March'2022) is as below:

| Sr. No.   | State/UT Name                      | Total number of Villages as per RGI Data(30-11-2019)   | Number of villages covered with 4G   | Number of villages without 4G coverage   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar Islands           | 559                                                    | 105                                  | 454                                      |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                     | 17328                                                  | 14159                                | 3169                                     |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 5993                                                   | 2262                                 | 3731                                     |
| 4         | Assam                              | 26429                                                  | 24223                                | 2206                                     |
| 5         | Bihar                              | 44888                                                  | 44575                                | 313                                      |
| 6         | Chhattisgarh                       | 20072                                                  | 17482                                | 2590                                     |
| 7         | Chandigarh                         | NA                                                     | NA                                   | NA                                       |
| 8         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 95                                                     | 62                                   | 33                                       |
| 9         | Goa                                | 392                                                    | 342                                  | 50                                       |
| 10        | Gujarat                            | 18425                                                  | 17604                                | 821                                      |
| 11        | Haryana                            | 6640                                                   | 6629                                 | 11                                       |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh                   | 20852                                                  | 18970                                | 1882                                     |
| 13        | Jammu and Kashmir                  | 6474                                                   | 5643                                 | 831                                      |
| 14        | Jharkhand                          | 32370                                                  | 30050                                | 2320                                     |
| 15        | Karnataka                          | 29818                                                  | 28634                                | 1184                                     |
| 16        | Kerala                             | 1438                                                   | 1358                                 | 80                                       |
| 17        | Ladakh                             | 243                                                    | 92                                   | 151                                      |
| 18        | Lakshadweep                        | 27                                                     | 10                                   | 17                                       |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh                     | 55058                                                  | 51818                                | 3240                                     |
| 20        | Maharashtra                        | 43931                                                  | 40138                                | 3793                                     |
| 21        | Manipur                            | 2612                                                   | 2069                                 | 543                                      |
| 22        | Meghalaya                          | 7100                                                   | 4580                                 | 2520                                     |
| 23        | Mizoram                            | 867                                                    | 618                                  | 249                                      |
| 24        | Nagaland                           | 1535                                                   | 1073                                 | 462                                      |
| 25        | NCT of Delhi                       | 55                                                     | 55                                   | 0                                        |
| 26        | Odisha                             | 51176                                                  | 43584                                | 7592                                     |
| 27        | Puducherry                         | 96                                                     | 95                                   | 1                                        |
| 28        | Punjab                             | 12534                                                  | 12519                                | 15                                       |
| 29        | Rajasthan                          | 46077                                                  | 42343                                | 3734                                     |
| 30        | Sikkim                             | 461                                                    | 157                                  | 304                                      |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                         | 16488                                                  | 15916                                | 572                                      |
| 32        | Telangana                          | 10203                                                  | 9951                                 | 252                                      |
| 33        | Tripura                            | 937                                                    | 638                                  | 299                                      |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                      | 105531                                                 | 105146                               | 385                                      |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                        | 16456                                                  | 15215                                | 1241                                     |
| 36        | West Bengal                        | 40971                                                  | 40836                                | 135                                      |
| Total     | Total                              | 644131                                                 | 598951                               | 45180                                    |

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