Lok Sabha Question No. 4506 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Quality and Speed of Fibre-optic Internet Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Naveen Jindal, Dr. Rajeev Bharadwaj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4506 ANSWERED ON 20 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## QUALITY AND SPEED OF FIBRE-OPTIC INTERNET SERVICES

## 4506.   SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL: DR. RAJEEV BHARADWAJ:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details (in kilometres) of the Optical Fibre  Cable (OFC) laid across the country during the  last  five  years,  State,  district  and  year-wise  including  of    Kangra  and  Chamba  districts  of Himachal Pradesh;
- (b) the contribution of the Digital India initiative in the growth of optical fibre networks in the country;
- (c) the details of the measures taken/being taken to improve the quality and speed of fibre optic internet services in urban and rural areas and reduce dependence on foreign optical fibre imports;
- (d) the manner in which OFC network has helped in disaster-prone areas by improving early warning and communication systems;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to upgrade public Wi-Fi infrastructure through fibre optic connectivity and  if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the details of upcoming schemes or initiatives  to make broadband internet affordable for all through expanded fibre coverage?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a), (b), (e) & (f) As of March 31, 2025, a total of 19,53,264 route KM of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid across the country during the last five years. The State-wise details are attached as Annexure-I .

The Government has taken the following key actions to improve the telecom connectivity including fibre-optic internet services by implementing the National Broadband Mission (NBM) in the country.

- i. Launched the Centralized Right of Way (RoW) Portal on May 14, 2022, thus facilitating the streamlining of the RoW permissions for the deployment of telecom infrastructure viz. Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) laying and telecom tower installation.

- ii. Processes to obtain RoW permissions and applicable charges were further made uniform through Telecommunications (Right of Way) Rules 2024 under 'The Telecommunications Act, 2023'. The rules are effective from January 01, 2025.

Further,  the  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT)  is  ensuring  stable  broadband connectivity and bridging the digital divide through the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN). Key initiatives include:

- i. The BharatNet project providing broadband to Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages (on demand).
- ii. Submarine  optical  fiber  cables  were  laid  between  Chennai  and  Andaman  &  Nicobar (2312 km) and Kochi and Lakshadweep (1869 km), enabling faster internet connectivity.
- iii. Various schemes for high-speed internet and mobile services (including 4G) in remote areas,  such as  the  North-East,  Islands,  LWE  (Left-Wing Extremism)-affected regions, Aspirational Districts, and border villages.

(c) As on 30th June 2025,  2,09,291 Gram Panchayats (GPs) on OFC have been made Service Ready for providing high speed internet services and total 13,01,193 no. of FTTH connections have been provided in  rural  areas  under  the  BharatNet  project.  The  Wi-Fi  technology  enabled  FTTH connections are being provided through BharatNet network.

On 04.08.2023, the Union Cabinet has approved the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) under Design, Built, Operate and Maintain (DBOM) model, for up-gradation of existing network of BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II, creation of network in balance GPs, Operation and Maintenance for 10 years and utilization.

India has sufficient  manufacturing capacity of optical fibre.  Exports  of optical fibre from India in FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 were ₹3,398 crore and ₹3,009 crore respectively.

(d) The OFC network enables high-speed, reliable communication for early warnings, supports large-scale data sharing among emergency services, and remains mostly unaffected during disaster situations  except  landslide,  earthquake  or  severe  floods.  This  helps  in  coordination,  community alerts, and rescue operations, reducing loss of life and property.

Annexure-I

## Annexure referred to in Part (a), (b), (e) & (f), of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4506 answered on 20.08.2025.

| S. No               | State/UT Name                           | Total OFC Laid (in route KM)   |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1                   | Andaman and Nicobar Islands (UT)        | 702                            |
| 2                   | Andhra Pradesh                          | 138225                         |
| 3                   | Arunachal Pradesh                       | 4180                           |
| 4                   | Assam                                   | 49063                          |
| 5                   | Bihar                                   | 37562                          |
| 6                   | Chandigarh (UT)                         | 14964                          |
| 7                   | Chhattisgarh                            | 54577                          |
| 8                   | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu (UT) | 833                            |
| 9                   | Delhi (UT)                              | 33000                          |
| 10                  | Goa                                     | 1475                           |
| 11                  | Gujarat                                 | 136481                         |
| 12                  | Haryana                                 | 23714                          |
| 13                  | Himachal Pradesh                        | 11256                          |
| 14                  | Jammu and Kashmir (UT)                  | 20441                          |
| 15                  | Jharkhand                               | 39142                          |
| 16                  | Karnataka                               | 84719                          |
| 17                  | Kerala                                  | 191051                         |
| 18                  | Ladakh (UT)                             | 2219                           |
| 19                  | Lakshadweep (UT)                        | 24                             |
| 20                  | Madhya Pradesh                          | 78396                          |
| 21                  | Maharashtra                             | 169304                         |
| 22                  | Manipur                                 | 3934                           |
| 23                  | Meghalaya                               | 5688                           |
| 24                  | Mizoram                                 | 3667                           |
| 25                  | Nagaland                                | 3876                           |
| 26                  | Odisha                                  | 65641                          |
| 27                  | Puducherry (UT)                         | 137                            |
| 28                  | Punjab                                  | 114324                         |
| 29                  | Rajasthan                               | 83201                          |
| 30                  | Sikkim                                  | 1301                           |
| 31                  | Tamil Nadu                              | 168071                         |
| 32                  | Telangana                               | 157672                         |
| 33                  | Tripura                                 | 3656                           |
| 34                  | Uttar Pradesh                           | 149907                         |
| 35                  | Uttarakhand                             | 17746                          |
| 36                  | West Bengal                             | 83114                          |
| Grand Total 1953264 | Grand Total 1953264                     | Grand Total 1953264            |

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