Lok Sabha Question No. 602 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-20
Subject: Internet Subscriber Base
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: NISHIKANT  DUBEY, SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.602 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 TH  JULY, 2016

## INTERNET SUBSCRIBER BASE

## 602. SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY: KUMARI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS  be pleased to state:

(a) the details of urban and rural Internet subscriber base in the country as on date, State and service provider-wise;

(b) whether the  internet  penetration  and  growth  in  the  country  is  lagging  as  against  its Asian peers;

(c) if  so,  the  steps  proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  internet penetration particularly in rural areas; and

(d) the  measures  taken  to  ensure  digital  literacy  among  students  and  adults  in  rural areas?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) The details of urban and rural internet subscriber base in the country as on 31 st March 2016, State and service provider wise are placed at Annexure-I and Annexure-II.

(b)&(c) As per ITU statistics 2015 India is ahead of its many Asian peers in terms of Internet growth. However in terms of  internet penetration, it is lagging.

The Government has taken various measures to improve internet penetration in rural areas. National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project, renamed as BharatNet, is planned to establish a network infrastructure by connecting all Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.5 lakh) in the country through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) by using an optimal mix of underground fibre, fibre over  power  lines,  radio  and  satellite  media,  for  providing  broadband  connectivity  by  all categories of service providers on non-discriminatory basis.

The project is planned to be implemented in three phases.  Under first phase of the project, 1 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) is to be connected by laying underground OFC by March 2017. Under second phase, connectivity will be provided to remaining 1.5 lakh GPs in the  country  using  an  optimal  mix  of  underground  fibre,  fibre  over  power  lines,  radio  and satellite media, by December, 2018. A state- of- the-art, future-proof network, including fibre between  districts  and  blocks  and  with  for  5G  services  and  Internet  of  Things  era  with underground OFC in ring architecture, is planned to be completed by 2023.

As  on  09.07.2016,  Optical  Fibre  Cable  (OFC)  has  been  laid  to  54,023  Gram Panchayats (GPs)  with  a  total  length  of  1,25,642  km. Out  of  these,  7312  GPs  have  been provided with broadband connectivity.

(d) DeitY  has  approved  the  following  two  Schemes  for  providing  Digital  Literacy  to  the masses:

## (i) Scheme for IT Mass Literacy (National Digital Literacy Mission):

A scheme for IT Mass Literacy (now renamed as National Digital Literacy Mission) was approved in March, 2014.The total budget outlay of the Scheme is Rs. 97.02 crore. The duration of the Scheme was initially 18 months, which was later extended up to 30.06.2016. The  Scheme  aims  to  train  10  lakh  persons.  The  Scheme  has  been  launched  on 21.8.2014 by Hon'ble Prime Minister in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

## (ii) Scheme for 'Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (DISHA) under 'Digital    India'

Digital  Empowerment  of  citizens  by  providing  Universal  Digital  Literacy  is  an  integral component of the vision of 'Digital India' initiative. Keeping this in view, a scheme 'Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (DISHA) was approved to make 42.5 lakh persons digitally literate in selected households throughout the country. The total budget outlay of the Scheme is Rs 380 crore  over  a  period  of  4  years.  The  Scheme  was  approved  on  09.12.2014  under Digital India Initiative

Both the above Scheme  are being implemented concurrently. So far, under the NDLM/DISHA schemes around 72.92 lakh candidates have been trained and approximately 33.15 lakh candidates have been certified. A total of 1952 training partners are involved under these schemes. Out of these Training Partners/ Training Centres, around 57% exist in rural areas (includes around 30,000 CSCs).

Further, in line with the FM's budget announcement, DeitY is formulating a Scheme titled 'Pradhan Mantri Grameen Saksharta Abhiyan' (PMGDISHA) to digitally literate 6  crore  persons  from  rural  India.  The  Expenditure  Finance  Committee  (EFC)  during  its meeting held on 06-07-2016 has recommended the proposal.

## Service provider-wise subscriber base as on 31 st March, 2016

## Annexure-I

| S.No.            | Name of the Service Provider                                  | Total Subscribers   |
|------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| 1                | Bharti Airtel Limited                                         | 90,537,790          |
| 2                | Vodafone                                                      | 67,552,749          |
| 3                | Idea Cellular                                                 | 44,035,828          |
| 4                | Reliance Communications                                       | 39,017,002          |
| 5                | Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.                                     | 34,091,621          |
| 6                | Aircel                                                        | 22,447,287          |
| 7                | Tata                                                          | 21,041,242          |
| 8                | Telenor                                                       | 13,671,479          |
| 9                | Sistema Shyam                                                 | 1,981,489           |
| 10               | Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.                                | 1,967,592           |
| 11               | Videocon                                                      | 1,213,631           |
| 12               | Atria Convergence Technologies Pvt. Ltd.                      | 941,006             |
| 13               | Quadrant Televentures Ltd.                                    | 747,574             |
| 14               | You Broadband India Pvt. Ltd.                                 | 550,001             |
| 15               | Hathway Cable & Datacom Pvt. Ltd.                             | 443,210             |
| 16               | Tikona                                                        | 341,221             |
| 17               | Syscon Infoway Pvt Ltd                                        | 194,908             |
| 18               | Asianet Satellite Communications Ltd.                         | 176,453             |
| 19               | D-Vois Broadband Private Limited                              | 170,773             |
| 20               | GTPL Hathway Private Limited                                  | 168,819             |
| 21               | Alliance Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd.                         | 132,433             |
| 22               | SITI Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd.                             | 121,409             |
| 23               | Five Network Solution (India) Ltd.                            | 87,184              |
| 24 25            | DEN Networks Ltd                                              | 76,448 72,482       |
| 26               | Ortel Communication Ltd.                                      |                     |
|                  | RailTel Corporation of India Ltd.                             | 70,731              |
| 27               | Honesty Net Solutions (I) Pvt Ltd                             | 60,805              |
| 28               | Meghbela Cable & Broadband Servies (P) Ltd                    | 45,319 44,788       |
| 30               | Indusind Media & Communications Limited                       | 43,363              |
| 29               | Citycom Networks Pvt. Ltd.                                    |                     |
| 31               | Broadband Pacenet (I) Pvt. Ltd.                               | 42,558 37,768       |
| 32 33            | Nextra Teleservices Pvt. Ltd. Tata Communications Limited     | 36,735              |
| 34               | Home Systems Pvt. Ltd.                                        | 32,684              |
| 35               | R.K. Infratel Limited                                         | 29,459              |
| 36               | Wish Net Pvt. Ltd.                                            | 25,146              |
| 37               | Chandra Net Pvt. Limited                                      | 23,646              |
| 38               | Digital Network associates Pvt. Ltd                           | 23,023              |
| 39               | Vasai Cable Pvt. Ltd.                                         | 22,561              |
|                  | Rajesh Multi Channel Pvt.                                     | 21,621              |
| 41               | Ltd. Limited                                                  | 17,700              |
| 42               | Excitel Broadband Private                                     | 14,962              |
| 43               | Apna Telelink Ltd.                                            | 13,783              |
| 44               | Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd.                         | 13,266              |
| 45               | World Phone Internet Ltd                                      | 13,263              |
| 46 GBPS Networks | Services Pvt Pvt. Ltd.                                        | 11,258              |
| 47               | North East Dataa Network Pvt Ltd. Quest Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. | 11,238              |
| 48               | Pioneerelabs                                                  | 10,424              |
| 49               | Ishan Netsol Pvt Ltd                                          | 10,054              |
| 50 51            | City Online Services Ltd                                      | 9,766               |
| 52               | Yashash Cable Network Pvt Ltd                                 | 9,668               |

| S.No.   | Name of the Service Provider                        | Total Subscribers   |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| 53      | Geocity Network Solutions Pvt. Ltd.                 | 9,541               |
| 54      | Wan and Lan Internet Pvt. Ltd.                      | 8,688               |
| 55      | SmartLink Broadband Services                        | 8,617               |
| 56      | Kappa Internet Services Pvt Ltd.                    | 8,558               |
| 57      | Blazenet Ltd.                                       | 7,602               |
| 58      | IKF Technologies Ltd                                | 6,849               |
| 59      | Spacenet Internet Services Pvt Ltd                  | 5,791               |
| 60      | Nettlinx Ltd.                                       | 5,170               |
| 61      | Intermedia Cable Communication Pvt Ltd              | 5,095               |
| 62      | CJM Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.                  | 5,015               |
| 63      | Kaizen Infonet Pvt Ltd                              | 4,989               |
| 64      | Narmada Cyberzone Pvt Ltd                           | 4,955               |
| 65      | Siliguri Internet & Cable TV Pvt. Ltd.              | 4,502               |
| 66      | CJ Online Pvt. Ltd.                                 | 4,319               |
| 67      | Rajesh Patel Net Services Pvt. Ltd.                 | 3,974               |
| 68      | Swiftmail Communications Ltd.                       | 3,669               |
| 69      | United Telecoms Ltd.                                | 3,497               |
| 70      | Sify Technologies Ltd.                              | 3,480               |
| 71      | HCL Comnet Systems & Services Ltd.                  | 3,434               |
| 72      | Sikka Broadband(P) Ltd.                             | 3,218               |
| 73      | Shri Omkar Infocom Pvt. Ltd.                        | 3,010               |
| 74      | F/X Wireless Technology Services Pvt. Ltd.          | 2,811               |
| 75      | Readylink Internet Services Pvt Ltd                 | 2,524               |
| 77      | Hughes Communications India Ltd.                    |                     |
| 78      | Speed Online.net Pvt. Ltd.                          | 2,131               |
| 79      | Fusionnet Web Services Pvt.                         | 2,125 2,086         |
| 80      | Ltd. Star Broadband Services (I) Pvt Ltd            | 1,862               |
| 81      | Capture Network Systems Pvt. Ltd.                   | 1,797               |
| 82      | Touch Net India Pvt. Ltd.                           | 1,698               |
| 83      | Sphier Infotech Pvt. Ltd.                           | 1,597               |
| 84      | Hathway Bhawani Cabletel & Datacom Pvt. Ltd.        | 1,554               |
| 85      | S.S.Netcom Pvt Ltd                                  | 1,492               |
| 86      | WEInternet Limited                                  | 1,321               |
| 87      | Digital2Virtual ISP Pvt. Ltd.                       | 1,259               |
| 88      | STN Communication & Advertising Pvt Ltd.            | 1,221               |
| 89      | Symbois Creations Pvt. Ltd.                         | 1,138               |
| 90      | Harisree CableNet Pvt. Ltd.                         | 835                 |
| 91      | Aeroway Networks Pvt Ltd.                           | 828                 |
| 92      | delDSL Internet Pvt Ltd                             | 828                 |
| 93      | Data Infosys Ltd.                                   | 743                 |
| 94      | Sab Infotech                                        | 699                 |
| 95      | Elyzium Technologies Pvt. Ltd.                      | 678                 |
| 96      | Rajdhani Telecom Pvt. Ltd.                          | 643                 |
| 97      | Airgenie Communications Pvt. Ltd.                   | 638                 |
| 98      | NetMagic Solutions(P) Ltd.                          | 591                 |
| 99      | Primenet Global Ltd.                                | 574                 |
| 100     | Bhiwani Communications Pvt. Ltd.                    | 573                 |
| 101     | Correl IT Services Pvt. Ltd.                        | 490                 |
| 102     | Gleam Worldwide Services Pvt. Ltd.                  | 395                 |
| 103     | Japra Tele Link Pvt. Ltd.                           | 368                 |
| 104     | Rida Communication Pvt. Ltd.                        | 365                 |
| 105 106 | Microsense Pvt. Ltd. Conjoinix Technologies Pvt Ltd | 234 232             |
| 107     | QBC Infotech Pvt. Ltd.                              | 226                 |

Note:  * Some wireless service providers exclude incidental data users from their subscriber base, based on minimum usage decided by them.

| S.No.               | Name of the Service Provider                            | Total Subscribers   |
|---------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| 108                 | ERNET India                                             | 225                 |
| 109                 | Pulse Telesystems Pvt. Ltd.                             | 211                 |
| 110                 | Gorakhpur Net Services Pvt. Ltd.                        | 199                 |
| 111                 | Nextgen Communications Ltd                              | 185                 |
| 112                 | Tamana Winet Pvt. Ltd.                                  | 185                 |
| 113                 | Khetan Cable Network (P) Ltd                            | 174                 |
| 114                 | Oasis Cable Pvt Ltd.                                    | 153                 |
| 115                 | Shri Vinayagaa Internet Pvt Ltd                         | 143                 |
| 116                 | Trans Virtual Pvt. Ltd.                                 | 127                 |
| 117                 | Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd.                    | 126                 |
| 118                 | Pacific Internet India Pvt. Ltd.                        | 112                 |
| 119                 | Singh Internet Services Pvt. Ltd.                       | 93                  |
| 120                 | Dream Plus Multi Services Pvt. Ltd.                     | 89                  |
| 121                 | Sanyog Networks Pvt Ltd                                 | 72                  |
| 122                 | Edge Telecommunications Pvt. Ltd.                       | 68                  |
| 123                 | AT&T Global Network Services India Pvt. Ltd.            | 49                  |
| 124                 | Verizon Communications India Pvt. Ltd.                  | 47                  |
| 125                 | Adya Tech One Services Pvt Ltd                          | 43                  |
| 126                 | West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corp. Ltd. | 43                  |
| 127                 | VIVA Communications Pvt Ltd                             | 42                  |
| 128                 | Jetspot Networks Pvt. Ltd.                              | 25                  |
| 129                 | Essel Shyam Communications Limited                      | 17                  |
| 130                 | Vcare Call Centres India Pvt. Ltd.                      | 17                  |
| 131                 | Novanet India Ltd.                                      | 16                  |
| 132                 | Airmesh Communications Limited                          | 15                  |
| 133                 | Financial Technologies Communications Ltd.              | 14                  |
| 134                 | Tatanet Services Ltd                                    | 9                   |
| 135                 | Nelco Ltd.                                              | 6                   |
| 136                 | ABT Ltd.                                                | 5                   |
| 137                 | Orange Business Services India Network Pvt. Ltd.        | 5                   |
| 138                 | Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd                               | 1                   |
| Total               | Total                                                   | 342,654,750         |
| Total (in Millions) | Total (in Millions)                                     | 342.65              |

Source: TRAI

[Subscribers in Millions]

| Telecom Service Area   | Total   | Total   |
|------------------------|---------|---------|
| Telecom Service Area   | Rural   | Urban   |
| Andhra Pradesh         | 9.13    | 15.73   |
| Assam                  | 3.21    | 3.54    |
| Bihar                  | 8.86    | 10.76   |
| Delhi                  | 0.93    | 19.66   |
| Gujarat                | 6.06    | 15.04   |
| Haryana                | 2.97    | 4.59    |
| Himachal Pradesh       | 1.76    | 1.28    |
| Jammu & Kashmir        | 1.83    | 1.79    |
| Karnataka              | 5.54    | 17.09   |
| Kerala                 | 5.57    | 9.02    |
| Kolkata                | 0.55    | 8.72    |
| Madhya Pradesh         | 6.24    | 14.17   |
| Maharashtra            | 9.76    | 19.72   |
| Mumbai                 | 0.28    | 15.37   |
| North East             | 1.97    | 2.10    |
| Orissa                 | 3.37    | 4.93    |
| Punjab                 | 4.71    | 8.75    |
| Rajasthan              | 7.01    | 10.25   |
| Tamil Nadu             | 6.86    | 21.16   |
| UP (East)              | 11.21   | 11.27   |
| UP (West)              | 6.48    | 10.04   |
| West Bengal            | 7.64    | 5.75    |
| Total                  | 111.94  | 230.71  |

Source: TRAI

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