Lok Sabha Question No. 2183 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-02
Subject: National Broadband Mission
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Krishna Pal Singh Yadav, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil, Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2183 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 ND  AUGUST, 2023

## NATIONAL BROADBAND MISSION

2183.   DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHE PATIL: DR. KRISHNA PAL SINGH YADAV: DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: PROF. RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI: SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the number of villages in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra that have been covered under the National Broadband Mission as on June 2023;

(b) the details of the tentative time in which the Mission will be completed;

(c) the manner in which the Government ensures equal quality of network and services across India; and

(d) whether access to quick service, troubleshooting and repair will be available to all villages and remote areas to run the scheme effectively under this Mission beyond implementation and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) The details of Gram Panchayats (GPs) made service ready under the BharatNet project and mobile  covered  villages  with  3G/4G  in  Uttar  Pradesh,  Madhya  Pradesh  and  Maharashtra  are  as follows:

| State          | No. of GPs made service ready in Ph-I & II (as of 30 th June 2023)   | No. of GPs under implementation in Ph-I& II (as of 30 th June 2023)   | No of mobile Covered villages with 4G or 3G or both (As of 28 th Feb 2023)   |
|----------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Uttar Pradesh  | 43,634                                                               | 3,355                                                                 | 1,05,140                                                                     |
| Madhya Pradesh | 17,848                                                               | 17                                                                    | 52,199                                                                       |
| Maharashtra    | 23,963                                                               | 3,854                                                                 | 39,660                                                                       |

The balance of 12,369 GPs of Uttar Pradesh, 4976 GPs of Madhya Pradesh and 122 GPs of Maharashtra and the inhabited villages of these three states are planned to be connected through  a  revised  strategy  which  is  under  formulation  and  approval.  The  timeline  for completion of the BharatNet Project is 2025.

(b) National Broadband Mission was launched on 17 th December 2019 with 2024-25 set as the timeline of completion.

(c) & (d) To ensure equal quality of network and services across India, various steps have been taken and various schemes are under implementation by the department. A summary of the steps taken is as follows:

- i. BharatNet  project  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  provide  broadband connectivity to all  the  Gram  Panchayats  (GPs).  The  Optical  Fiber  laid,  and  other infrastructure created under the BharatNet project is a national asset, accessible on a nondiscriminatory basis to the Telecom Service Providers, and the same can be utilized to provide broadband services, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections, leased lines, dark fibre, backhaul to mobile towers, etc.
- ii. To run the scheme efficiently, the Service Level Agreement (SLA) based Operations and Maintenance  (O&M)  for  BharatNet  Phase-I,  through  professional  agencies,  has  been entrusted to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). For the O&M of Phase II of BharatNet, the  respective  Implementing Agencies are responsible for the lifetime maintenance of the network.
- iii. BharatNet network is being mapped on the GIS platform which facilitates faster localization and repairing of faults.
- iv. The network is being centrally monitored from the network operating centre in Delhi and Bengaluru.

In addition,  Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)  regularly monitors the performance of service providers against the benchmark for various Quality of Service parameters laid down by TRAI by way of Quality of Service regulations issued from time to time. For monitoring the performance of service providers, TRAI collects License Service Area (LSA) wise Performance Monitoring Reports (PMR) from service providers on a quarterly basis. Wherever the Quality of Service benchmarks are not met, the explanation of the concerned service provider is called for and after considering the response of the service provider financial disincentive are imposed on noncomplied parameters.

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