Lok Sabha Question No. 1863 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Mandatory Rolling out of Services in Rural Areas
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: SADASHIV KISAN LOKHANDE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1863 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 TH  MARCH,  2016

## MANDATORY ROLLING OUT OF SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS

†1863. SHRI SADASHIV LOKHANDE:

Will  the  Minister  of  COMMUNICATIONS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken stringent view of private phone companies not fulfilling  their  contractual obligations regarding rolling out telecom services in rural areas/villages;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether some operators failed to rollout their service despite extending the time;
- (d) if so, the details of such operators;
- (e) whether the Government proposes to cancel the licenses of these companies;
- (f) if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) if not, the action taken against such operators?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (g) The  Government  regularly  examines  the  compliance  towards  Roll  out Obligations in accordance with the extant terms and conditions of the license as well as the terms and conditions, if any, applicable to the spectrum granted for the purpose of providing  the  service  coverage.  In  specific  reference  to  the  rural  areas/villages,  the terms and conditions related to the spectrum allocated in the given Service Area state the following:

In case of 3G mobile services:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall ensure that at least 50% of the District Headquarters in the service area will be covered using the 3G Spectrum, out of  which  at  least  15%  of  the  DHQs  should  be  rural  Short  Distance  Charging  Areas (SDCA), within five years of the Effective Date. Rural SDCA is defined as an area where 50% of the population lives in the rural areas. The Effective Date shall be the later of the date when the right to use awarded spectrum commercially commences and the date when the UAS licence, if applicable, is granted to the operator.

Contd……2/-

## In case of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) services:

The licensee to whom the spectrum is assigned shall ensure that at least 50% of the  rural  SDCAs  are  covered  within  five  years  of  the  Effective  Date  using  the  BWA Spectrum. Coverage of a rural SDCA would mean that at least 90% of the area bounded by the municipal/ local body limits should get the required street level coverage.

In  the  event  of  non-compliance  on  part  of  any  of  the  service  provider  in  the licensed Service area, the Government initiates the action in accordance with the stated terms  and  conditions  of  the  license  and  grant  of  spectrum  resources.  The  noncompliance  may  result  in  financial  penalties  or  the  termination  of  license  or  the withdrawal of spectrum granted to the defaulter.

Since the Roll out Obligations specific to the rural areas have been introduced in conjunction with the grant of 3G and BWA spectrum in 2010, the assessment for the state  of  compliance  is  currently  under  progress  to  determine  if  some  operators  have indeed  failed  to  fulfil  the  rollout  obligations  as  specified.  In  specific  reference  to  the spectrum granted for 3G services, one year additional time has been permitted subject to  the  imposition  of  liquidated  damages  as  already  specified  at  the  time  of  grant  of spectrum resources.

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