Lok Sabha Question No. 3122 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Black Spots in Mobile and Telecommunication Networks
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Dr. Anand Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3122 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  MARCH, 2026

## BLACK SPOTS IN MOBILE AND TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS

## †3122.  DR. ANAND KUMAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that there are black spots in mobile and telecommunication networks in many areas of the country, not only in rural areas but also in urban areas, due to which citizens face call drops, internet disruptions and difficulties in emergency communication;
- (b) if  so,  the  number  of mobile/telecom black spots identified in rural and urban areas in  the country and the State/city-wise details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is  implementing any special scheme to improve connectivity  in these  black  spot  areas  through  installation  of  mobile  towers,  increasing  network  density,  4G/5G expansion or alternative technologies; and
- (d) the current progress of the said measures and the time by which it is prescribed to ensure uninterrupted telecom services?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Presently,  field  units  of  Department  of  Telecommunications  have  reported  that approx.  8,985  villages  in  the  country  are  uncovered  (blackspots)  with  mobile  services.  Telecom Service Providers identify the uncovered areas in urban and rural through regular drive tests and provide  coverage  with  optimization  of  existing  network  and  by  installing  new  Base  Transceiver Stations (BTSs) as per techno-commercial feasibility. State/UT-wise list of uncovered villages is attached as Annexure-I.

(c) & (d) For providing high bandwidth capacity internet/broadband connectivity and mobile services to uncovered remote & rural villages and islands in the country, following projects have been taken up with funding from Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN):

- i. BharatNet  project: It  is  being  implemented  in  a  phased  manner  to  provide  broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages in the country. As of Jan-2026; 2,14,921 GPs have been made service ready under BharatNet project in the country. Further, Amended BharatNet Program (ABP), approved by the Government on 04.08.2023, is under implementation  for  up-gradation  of  existing  network  of  BharatNet  Phase-I  and  Phase-II, creation of network in balance GPs and connectivity to remaining non-GP villages on demand basis from their respective GPs.
- ii. 4G Saturation: Under Government funded 4G Saturation Project and other Mobile projects, till Jan-2026, 23,994 mobile towers have been commissioned in the country.

- iii. Submarine optical fibre cable : Commissioning of Submarine optical fibre cable between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (2312 Km) and between Mainland (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands (1869 km). Creation of 225Km OFC network in Lakshadweep Islands for provision of FTTH & other services. These optical fibre cable projects have facilitated faster roll out of fixed line broadband/internet services, mobile services (4G/5G) and other high-speed data services in the Islands.

| State/UT-wise list of uncovered villages as on 31.01.2026   | State/UT-wise list of uncovered villages as on 31.01.2026   | State/UT-wise list of uncovered villages as on 31.01.2026   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.N.                                                        | Name of State / UT                                          | No. of uncovered villages                                   |
| 1                                                           | Andaman &Nicobar Islands                                    | 127                                                         |
| 2                                                           | Andhra Pradesh                                              | 394                                                         |
| 3                                                           | Arunachal Pradesh                                           | 1,185                                                       |
| 4                                                           | Assam                                                       | 163                                                         |
| 5                                                           | Bihar                                                       | 39                                                          |
| 6                                                           | Chandigarh                                                  | 0                                                           |
| 7                                                           | Chhattisgarh                                                | 769                                                         |
| 8                                                           | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu                          | 0                                                           |
| 9                                                           | Goa                                                         | 38                                                          |
| 10                                                          | Gujarat                                                     | 213                                                         |
| 11                                                          | Haryana                                                     | 1                                                           |
| 12                                                          | Himachal Pradesh                                            | 510                                                         |
| 13                                                          | Jammu and Kashmir                                           | 248                                                         |
| 14                                                          | Jharkhand                                                   | 324                                                         |
| 15                                                          | Karnataka                                                   | 470                                                         |
| 16                                                          | Kerala                                                      | 0                                                           |
| 17                                                          | Ladakh                                                      | 10                                                          |
| 18                                                          | Lakshadweep                                                 | 0                                                           |
| 19                                                          | Madhya Pradesh                                              | 960                                                         |
| 20                                                          | Maharashtra                                                 | 872                                                         |
| 21                                                          | Manipur                                                     | 191                                                         |
| 22                                                          | Meghalaya                                                   | 159                                                         |
| 23                                                          | Mizoram                                                     | 54                                                          |
| 24                                                          | Nagaland                                                    | 131                                                         |
| 25                                                          | NCT of Delhi                                                | 0                                                           |
| 26                                                          | Odisha                                                      | 1,237                                                       |
| 27                                                          | Puducherry                                                  | 0                                                           |
| 28                                                          | Punjab                                                      | 2                                                           |
| 29                                                          | Rajasthan                                                   | 531                                                         |
| 30                                                          | Sikkim                                                      | 6                                                           |
| 31                                                          | Tamil Nadu                                                  | 3                                                           |
| 32                                                          | Telangana                                                   | 228                                                         |
| 33                                                          | Tripura                                                     | 7                                                           |
| 34                                                          | Uttar Pradesh                                               | 36                                                          |
| 35                                                          | Uttarakhand                                                 | 68                                                          |
| 36                                                          | West Bengal                                                 | 9                                                           |
|                                                             | Total                                                       | 8,985                                                       |

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## Annexure-I