Lok Sabha Question No. 2023 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Telecom and Internet Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT, SURESH KODIKUNNIL, ARJUNLAL MEENA, SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNPURIA, A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN, JAY PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV, SAKSHI SWAMI MAHARAJ, PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2023 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 TH  MARCH,  2016

## TELECOM AND INTERNET SERVICES

2023.  DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT: SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH: SHRI ARJUN LAL MEENA: SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA: SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN: SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: DR. SWAMI SAKSHIJI MAHARAJ: SHRI PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  implemented  a  new  tele-communications policy to provide telecom and internet services in each village across the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  there  is  scarcity  of  mobile  towers  in  the  rural  areas  and  private operators are less interested in expanding their services in such areas and BSNL does not have sufficient funds to develop mobile infrastructure and install towers;
- (d) if so, the details thereof along with the number of mobile towers installed in various States separately in rural and urban areas, operator and State-wise; and
- (e) the  corrective  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  boost installation of  more  mobile  towers  in the rural areas  to  improve  telecom connectivity, State-wise including Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) & (b) The  National  Telecom  Policy  has  set  the  objectives  of  increasing rural  tele-density  to  70  percent  by  2017  and  100  percent by the year 2020 and providing  175  million  broadband  connection  by  2017  and  600  million  by  2020. The current level of rural and urban tele-density in the country is 49.82 and 152.57 respectively  and  the  number  of  broadband  subscriber  is  136.53  million  (as  on 31.12.2015). The State-wise details are at Annexure I.

Contd…….2/-

(c) to (e) Details of number of towers in rural and urban areas are not being maintained  separately  by  the  Department  of  Telecommunication.  However,  the details  of  total  number  of  Base  Transceiver  Station (BTS)  as  on  31.01.2016, License  Service  Area  (LSA)  -wise  and  operator-wise  are  at Annexure-II and Annexure-III.

It is estimated that there are 55,669 villages in the country that do not have mobile  coverage.  State-wise  details  are  at Annexure-IV. Mobile  coverage  to these balance uncovered villages has been planned to be provided in a phased manner, subject to availability of financial resources.

Various  Schemes  are  being  implemented/  planned  with  financial  support from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for expansion of mobile services in rural and remote areas. Details of such schemes are as below:

- (i) 7,317  Mobile  towers  have  been  installed  with  the  financial  support  from Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  under  the  Shared  Mobile Infrastructure Scheme in villages or cluster of villages having population of 2000  or  more  and  not  having  mobile  coverage.  State-wise  details  are enclosed as Annexure-V. The infrastructure so created is capable of being shared  by  three  service  providers  for  provision  of  mobile  services.  The scheme was implemented during the period from June, 2007 to November, 2013.
- (ii) 2199  mobile  towers  are  being  set  up  in  Left  Wing  Extremism  (LWE) affected States with a total estimated cost of Rs.3567.58 crore. The project is being executed by BSNL. State-wise details are enclosed as AnnexureVI. 1517 sites are radiating as on 29.02.2016.
- (iii) On  10.09.2014,  the  Government  approved  a  proposal  to  implement  a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region (NER).    The  Project  envisages  to  provide  mobile  coverage  to  8621 identified  uncovered  villages  by  installation  of  about  6673  mobile  towers, installation of  321  mobile  tower  sites  along  National  Highways  and strengthening of transmission network in the NER.  The estimated cost of implementation is Rs. 5336.18 crore.  The Project would be funded from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). State-wise details are enclosed as Annexure-VII.

Annexure-I State-wise details of Rural and Urban Tele-density

| S.No.   | Service area         | Rural teledensity in %as on 31.12.2015.   | Urban teledensity in %as on 31.12.2015.   | Total teledensity in %as on 31.12.2015.   |
|---------|----------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh       | 50.95                                     | 178.38                                    | 86.53                                     |
| 2       | Assam                | 41.16                                     | 128.79                                    | 55.22                                     |
| 3       | Bihar                | 35.09                                     | 161.70                                    | 52.55                                     |
| 4       | Gujarat              | 64.74                                     | 143.25                                    | 97.58                                     |
| 5       | Haryana              | 58.22                                     | 130.92                                    | 84.42                                     |
| 6       | Himachal Pradesh     | 92.62                                     | 365.74                                    | 124.54                                    |
| 7       | Jammu & Kashmir      | 57.40                                     | 134.42                                    | 78.84                                     |
| 8       | Karnataka            | 53.27                                     | 179.76                                    | 102.33                                    |
| 9       | Kerala               | 61.56                                     | 215.32                                    | 100.52                                    |
| 10      | Madhya Pradesh       | 38.83                                     | 127.40                                    | 63.07                                     |
| 11      | Maharashtra          | 62.14                                     | 123.88                                    | 84.50                                     |
| 12      | North East           | 52.67                                     | 154.19                                    | 78.17                                     |
| 13      | Odisha               | 46.51                                     | 154.97                                    | 65.69                                     |
| 14      | Punjab               | 70.51                                     | 147.41                                    | 104.15                                    |
| 15      | Rajasthan            | 57.13                                     | 161.06                                    | 82.24                                     |
| 16      | Tamil Nadu           | 83.25                                     | 140.30                                    | 117.27                                    |
| 17      | Uttar Pradesh (East) |                                           |                                           |                                           |
| 18      | Uttar Pradesh (West) | 40.67                                     | 140.58                                    | 63.51                                     |
| 19      | West Bengal          | 49.35                                     | 133.01                                    | 61.40                                     |
| 20      | Kolkata              | #                                         | #                                         | 160.30                                    |
| 21      | Delhi                | #                                         | #                                         | 240.93                                    |
| 22      | Mumbai               | #                                         | #                                         | 149.45                                    |
|         | All India Total      | 49.82                                     | 152.57                                    | 81.85                                     |

## Contd…….4/-

Annexure-II

| Sl. No.   | Licence Service Area   | Total BTSs as on 31-01- 2016   |
|-----------|------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh         | 89,597                         |
| 2         | Assam                  | 20,671                         |
| 3         | Bihar                  | 51,916                         |
| 4         | Chennai                | 31,382                         |
| 5         | DELHI                  | 56,692                         |
| 6         | Gujarat                | 69,839                         |
| 7         | Haryana                | 27,973                         |
| 8         | Jammu and Kashmir      | 15,797                         |
| 9         | Karnataka              | 82,601                         |
| 10        | KERALA                 | 49,675                         |
| 11        | Kolkata                | 29,614                         |
| 12        | Maharashtra            | 93,910                         |
| 13        | Mumbai                 | 37,731                         |
| 14        | North East             | 12,985                         |
| 15        | ODISHA                 | 28,448                         |
| 16        | Punjab                 | 41,650                         |
| 17        | RAJASTHAN              | 49,459                         |
| 18        | West Bengal            | 38,107                         |
| 19        | Madhya Pradesh         | 69,000                         |
| 20        | TAMILNADU              | 67,037                         |
| 21        | Uttar Pradesh (East)   | 67,008                         |
| 22        | Uttar Pradesh (West)   | 51,728                         |
| 23        | Himachal Pradesh       | 10,293                         |
|           | Grand Total            | 10,93,113                      |

Contd…….5/-

| Sl. No.   | Telecom Service Provider   | Total BTSs as on date as on 31-01-2016   |
|-----------|----------------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Aircel/Dishnet             | 67,154                                   |
| 2         | Airtel/BHL                 | 2,50,572                                 |
| 3         | BSNL                       | 1,20,608                                 |
| 4         | Etisalat/Allianz           | 1,366                                    |
| 5         | IDEA/ABTL                  | 1,76,353                                 |
| 6         | Loop                       | 4                                        |
| 7         | MTNL                       | 3,224                                    |
| 8         | QTL/HFCL                   | 2,396                                    |
| 9         | Reliance                   | 67,149                                   |
| 10        | Reliance Jio               | 1,18,108                                 |
| 11        | SPICE TELECOM              | 0                                        |
| 12        | SSTL (MTS)                 | 8,197                                    |
| 13        | STEL                       | 0                                        |
| 14        | Tikona                     | 416                                      |
| 15        | TTSL/TTML/Tata             | 68,771                                   |
| 16        | Videocon                   | 5,085                                    |
| 17        | Vodafone                   | 1,79,275                                 |
| 18        | Telenor/Telewings/Uninor   | 24,435                                   |
|           | Grand Total                | 10,93,113                                |

## Annexure-III

Contd…….6/-

## State-wise list of Uncovered Villages

| Sr.No.   | Name of the State/UT   | Total number of inhabited villages   |   No. of Uncovered Villages |
|----------|------------------------|--------------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh         | 16335                                |                        3812 |
| 2.       | Arunachal Pradesh      | 5258                                 |                        2886 |
| 3.       | Assam                  | 25372                                |                        2885 |
| 4.       | Bihar                  | 39073                                |                        2534 |
| 5.       | Chhattisgarh           | 19567                                |                        4041 |
| 6.       | Goa                    | 320                                  |                          65 |
| 7.       | Gujarat                | 17843                                |                        1275 |
| 8.       | Haryana                | 6642                                 |                           2 |
| 9.       | Himachal Pradesh       | 17882                                |                        2416 |
| 10.      | Jammu & Kashmir        | 6337                                 |                         460 |
| 11.      | Jharkhand              | 29492                                |                        5949 |
| 12.      | Karnataka              | 27397                                |                           0 |
| 13.      | Kerala                 | 1017                                 |                           0 |
| 14.      | Madhya Pradesh         | 51929                                |                        5926 |
| 15.      | Maharashtra            | 40959                                |                        4792 |
| 16.      | Manipur                | 2515                                 |                         610 |
| 17.      | Meghalaya              | 6459                                 |                        2389 |
| 18.      | Mizoram                | 704                                  |                         258 |
| 19.      | Nagaland               | 1400                                 |                         137 |
| 20.      | Odisha                 | 47675                                |                       10398 |
| 21.      | Punjab                 | 12168                                |                          91 |
| 22.      | Rajasthan              | 43264                                |                         770 |
| 23.      | Sikkim                 | 425                                  |                          23 |
| 24.      | Tamil Nadu             | 15049                                |                         113 |
| 25.      | Telangana              | 10347                                |                        1009 |
| 26.      | Tripura                | 863                                  |                           2 |
| 27.      | Uttar Pradesh          | 97814                                |                         266 |
| 28.      | Uttarakhand            | 15745                                |                        1876 |
| 29.      | West Bengal            | 37469                                |                         487 |
| 30.      | Andaman & Nicobar      | 684                                  |                         190 |
| 31.      | Puducherry             |                                      |                           0 |
| 32.      | Dadra & Nagar Haveli   |                                      |                           5 |
| 33.      | Daman & Diu            |                                      |                           1 |
| 34.      | Lakshadweep            |                                      |                           1 |
|          | TOTAL                  | 597608                               |                       55669 |

Contd…….7/-

## Annexure-IV

## State-wise Mobile Tower sites installed under USOF Scheme of Shared Mobile Infrastructure

| Sl. No.   | Name of State     | Total no. of sites commissioned as on 30.11.2013   |
|-----------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    | 327                                                |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh | 65                                                 |
| 3         | Assam             | 87                                                 |
| 4         | Bihar             | 453                                                |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      | 553                                                |
| 6         | Gujarat           | 59                                                 |
| 7         | Haryana           | 12                                                 |
| 8         | Himachal Pradesh  | 258                                                |
| 9         | Jammu & Kashmir   | 81                                                 |
| 10        | Jharkhand         | 273                                                |
| 11        | Karnataka         | 381                                                |
| 12        | Kerala            | 43                                                 |
| 13        | Madhya Pradesh    | 933                                                |
| 14        | Maharashtra       | 956                                                |
| 15        | Manipur           | 69                                                 |
| 16        | Meghalaya         | 107                                                |
| 17        | Mizoram           | 43                                                 |
| 18        | Nagaland          | 50                                                 |
| 19        | Odisha            | 434                                                |
| 20        | Punjab            | 14                                                 |
| 21        | Rajasthan         | 403                                                |
| 22        | Sikkim            | 6                                                  |
| 23        | Tamil Nadu        | 327                                                |
| 24        | Telangana         | 269                                                |
| 25        | Tripura           | 115                                                |
| 26        | Uttarakhand       | 184                                                |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh     | 652                                                |
| 28        | West Bengal       | 163                                                |
| TOTAL     | TOTAL             | 7,317                                              |

## Annexure-VI

## State-wise breakup of locations under the scheme of mobile services to LWE Affected Areas

| S. No.      | State          | No. of Total Locations identified by MHA   |
|-------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------|
| 1.          | Andhra Pradesh | 54                                         |
| 2.          | Bihar          | 184                                        |
| 3.          | Chhattisgarh   | 497                                        |
| 4.          | Jharkhand      | 782                                        |
| 5.          | Maharashtra    | 60                                         |
| 6.          | Madhya Pradesh | 22                                         |
| 7.          | Odisha         | 253                                        |
| 8.          | Telangana      | 173                                        |
| 9.          | Uttar Pradesh  | 78                                         |
| 10.         | West Bengal    | 96                                         |
| Total 2,199 | Total 2,199    | Total 2,199                                |

## Contd…….9/-

Annexure-VII Mobile Towers proposed for uncovered villages  and along National Highways in NER

| S.No.             | STATE   | No. of Villages proposed to be covered   | Number of Towers Proposed for Uncovered Villages   | No. of Towers proposed along National Highways   |
|-------------------|---------|------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2805    | 1893                                     | 149                                                | 1                                                |
| 2 Assam           | 2503    | 1874                                     |                                                    | 33                                               |
| Manipur           | 528     | 384                                      | 53                                                 | 3                                                |
| Meghalaya         | 2374    | 2162                                     | 11                                                 | 4                                                |
| Mizoram           | 252     | 227                                      | 19                                                 | 5                                                |
| Nagaland          | 134     | 112                                      | 48                                                 | 6                                                |
| Sikkim            | 23      | 19                                       | 1                                                  | 7                                                |
| 8 Tripura         | 2       |                                          | 2 7                                                |                                                  |
|                   | TOTAL   | 8621                                     | 6673                                               | 321                                              |

## *******************