Lok Sabha Question No. 6019 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-01
Subject: Telecom Infrastructure Works
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Raju Bista

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6019 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01 ST  APRIL, 2026

## TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS

## 6019.   SHRI RAJU BISTA:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of telecom infrastructure works completed or sanctioned since 2019 (towers, fibre kms, BharatNet, PM-WANI) in West Bengal, district and year-wise;
- (b) the details and the number of USOF-funded towers sanctioned/installed in each district since 2019; and
- (c) the timeline and plan for achieving full 5G coverage in West Bengal?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Mobile  towers  are  installed  by  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  /  Infrastructure Providers-I (IPs-I) as per the  techno-commercial arrangement and conditions of licenses/ registrations  granted  by  Department  of  Telecommunications  (DoT).  Total  Number  of  towers installed  in  West  Bengal  as  on  28.02.2026  is  53,902  ( Annexure-I ).  Further,  under  the  various schemes of  Digital  Bharat  Nidhi  (DBN),  DoT  has  planned  for  installation  of  212  towers  across various districts in West Bengal, out of which 118 towers have been already installed (AnnexureII ).

BharatNet project is being implemented by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) through Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity in Gram Panchayats/ Villages across the country. As of February 2026, under the BharatNet project, 13,222 km of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid in West Bengal. Further, under the framework of the PM-WANI (Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) which was launched on 09.12.2020, a total number of 4209 ( Annexure-III) Wi-Fi Hotspots have been deployed across various districts in West Bengal till 27.03.2026.

(c) 5G networks have been rolled out in all States/ UTs across the country and presently 5G services are available in 99.9% of districts in the country. As on 28 th  February 2026, 5.23 lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations  (BTSs)  have been installed in the  country.  Further, as  on 28.02.2026, 34164 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed ( Annexure-IV) and 31007 Number of Villages has been covered under 5G Services in various district of West Bengal (Annexure-V).

## District wise towers in West Bengal State as on 28.02.2026

| Name of State   | District          |   Count of Tower |
|-----------------|-------------------|------------------|
| West Bengal     | Alipurduar        |              670 |
|                 | Bankura           |             1914 |
|                 | Birbhum           |             1948 |
|                 | Cooch Behar       |             1289 |
|                 | Dakshin Dinajpur  |              715 |
|                 | Darjeeling        |             1164 |
|                 | Hooghly           |             3330 |
|                 | Howrah            |             3295 |
|                 | Jalpaiguri        |             1189 |
|                 | Jhargram          |              528 |
|                 | Kalimpong         |              223 |
|                 | Kolkata           |             6385 |
|                 | Malda             |             1687 |
|                 | Murshidabad       |             3347 |
|                 | Nadia             |             2874 |
|                 | North 24 Parganas |             7301 |
|                 | Paschim Bardhaman |             1719 |
|                 | Paschim Medinipur |             2327 |
|                 | Purba Bardhaman   |             2444 |
|                 | Purba Medinipur   |             2282 |
|                 | Purulia           |             1258 |
|                 | South 24 Parganas |             4656 |
|                 | Uttar Dinajpur    |             1357 |
|                 | Total             |            53902 |

## District-wise towers planned and installed in West Bengal

|       |                   |               | Towers installed   | Towers installed   | Towers installed   | Towers installed   | Towers installed   |
|-------|-------------------|---------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| S. No | District          | Tower Planned | 2020               | 2024               | 2025               | 2026               | Grand Total        |
| 1     | Alipurduar        | 22            |                    |                    | 4                  |                    | 4                  |
| 2     | Bankura           | 10            |                    | 1                  | 8                  | 1                  | 10                 |
| 3     | Darjeeling        | 23            |                    |                    | 3                  |                    | 3                  |
| 4     | Jalpaiguri        | 16            |                    | 5                  | 2                  | 1                  | 8                  |
| 5     | Jhargram          | 12            |                    | 2                  |                    |                    | 2                  |
| 6     | Kalimpong         | 31            |                    | 2                  | 3                  |                    | 5                  |
| 7     | Murshidabad       | 1             | 1                  |                    |                    |                    | 1                  |
| 8     | Purulia           | 53            |                    | 1                  | 36                 | 9                  | 46                 |
| 9     | South 24 parganas | 1             |                    |                    |                    |                    |                    |
| 10    | Uttar dinajpur    | 2             |                    | 2                  |                    |                    | 2                  |
| 11    | W. Medinipur      | 41            |                    | 4                  | 33                 |                    | 37                 |
| Total | Total             | 212           | 1                  | 17                 | 89                 | 11                 | 118                |

* Note-No tower installed in years 2021, 2022 and 2023

## District wise Wi-Fi Hotspots under PM-WANI in West Bengal State as on 27.03.2026

| S.No   | Districts         |   No. of Wi-Fi Hotspots |
|--------|-------------------|-------------------------|
| 1      | Alipurduar        |                      29 |
| 2      | Bankura           |                     168 |
| 3      | Birbhum           |                     126 |
| 4      | Cooch Behar       |                     115 |
| 5      | Dakshin Dinajpur  |                      63 |
| 6      | Darjeeling        |                     122 |
| 7      | Hooghly           |                     207 |
| 8      | Howrah            |                     313 |
| 9      | Jalpaiguri        |                     111 |
| 10     | Jhargram          |                       9 |
| 11     | Kalimpong         |                       1 |
| 12     | Kolkata           |                    1109 |
| 13     | Malda             |                      87 |
| 14     | Murshidabad       |                     167 |
| 15     | Nadia             |                     172 |
| 16     | North 24 Parganas |                     159 |
| 17     | Paschim Bardhaman |                     188 |
| 18     | Paschim Medinipur |                     349 |
| 19     | Purba Bardhaman   |                     273 |
| 20     | Purba Medinipur   |                     139 |
| 21     | Purulia           |                     118 |
| 22     | South 24 Parganas |                     123 |
| 23     | Uttar Dinajpur    |                      61 |
|        | Total             |                    4209 |

## District wise 5G BTS in West Bengal State as on 28.02.2026

| Name of State   | District          |   Number of 5G BTS |
|-----------------|-------------------|--------------------|
| West Bengal     | Hooghly           |               2348 |
|                 | Howrah            |               2533 |
|                 | Kolkata           |               4060 |
|                 | Nadia             |               1849 |
|                 | North 24 Parganas |               5532 |
|                 | South 24 Parganas |               3454 |
|                 | Paschim Bardhaman |               1352 |
|                 | Purba Bardhaman   |               1289 |
|                 | Dakshin Dinajpur  |                298 |
|                 | Uttar Dinajpur    |                680 |
|                 | Bankura           |                629 |
|                 | Murshidabad       |               1985 |
|                 | Cooch Behar       |                673 |
|                 | Darjeeling        |                731 |
|                 | Alipurduar        |                394 |
|                 | Jalpaiguri        |                771 |
|                 | Jhargram          |                220 |
|                 | Paschim Medinipur |               1066 |
|                 | Purba Medinipur   |               1584 |
|                 | Malda             |               1111 |
|                 | Purulia           |                638 |
|                 | Kalimpong         |                 84 |
|                 | Birbhum           |                883 |
|                 | Total             |              34164 |

## District wise 5G mobile coverage status in West Bengal

| Name of State   | Name of District   |   Number of villages covered services |
|-----------------|--------------------|---------------------------------------|
| West Bengal     | Alipurduar         |                                   276 |
|                 | Bankura            |                                  2085 |
|                 | Birbhum            |                                  1916 |
|                 | Cooch Behar        |                                   819 |
|                 | Dakshin Dinajpur   |                                   792 |
|                 | Darjeeling         |                                   523 |
|                 | Hooghly            |                                  1888 |
|                 | Howrah             |                                   784 |
|                 | Jalpaiguri         |                                   342 |
|                 | Jhargram           |                                  1657 |
|                 | Kalimpong          |                                    83 |
|                 | Malda              |                                  1241 |
|                 | Murshidabad        |                                  2011 |
|                 | Nadia              |                                  1231 |
|                 | North 24 Parganas  |                                  1597 |
|                 | Paschim Bardhaman  |                                   383 |
|                 | Paschim Medinipur  |                                  3800 |
|                 | Purba Bardhaman    |                                  1849 |
|                 | Purba Medinipur    |                                  2867 |
|                 | Purulia            |                                  1729 |
|                 | South 24 Parganas  |                                  2061 |
|                 | Uttar Dinajpur     |                                  1073 |
|                 | Total              |                                 31007 |

*****