Question : Internet and Broadband Facility in Rural Areas

(a) whether unsatisfactory usage of internet and broadband penetration, especially in rural areas has received attention of the Government ;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, operator-wise and State-wise;

(c) whether there is reluctance in investment thereof in the rural areas;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, State-wise including the position in Odisha; and

(e) the measures taken up by the Government to ensure better internet and broadband penetration network, State-wise especially in Odisha ?

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

(a) & (b) As per “The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators” reports published by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Licensed Service Area wise details of penetration of internet and broadband users (subscribers) in rural areas of the Country as on 30th June 2018 is annexed as Annexure-I.

(c) to (e) BharatNet project, to connect all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) (approx. 2.5 lakh)by broadband in the country including Odisha, is being implemented in a phased manner. As on 02.12.2018, a total of 1,21,652 GPs have been connected by laying 3,01,154 Km Optical Fibre Cable (OFC). OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 1,16,411GPs, which are Service Ready. The State/UT-wise details of the BharatNet project, are given in Annexure-II.

As part of BharatNet project, the last mile connectivity is being provided at all the GPs in the country, including Odisha through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology to access broadband /internet services. Every GP is being provided with 5 Access Points (APs)on an average i.e. 2 APs at Public places & 3 APs at Government Institutions such as school, hospital, post offices, police station, etc. For around 1.05 lakh GPs, the agencies for setting up of Wi-Fi hotspots have been selected. So far, Wi-Fi hotspots have been installed at 39,359 GPs and out of them, services are being provided at 10,775 GPs, catering to more than 11 lakh subscribers with a data usage of over 50 Tera Byte per month.

In Odisha, a total of 3805 GPs have been connected under BharatNet project by laying 11729 Km OFC as on 02.12.2018. OFC laying & equipment installation has been completed at 3,470 GPs, which are Service Ready.

In addition, the following initiatives have also been taken towards provision of broadband/internet service:

(a) Setting up of Wi-Fi Choupals at 5,000 Gram Panchayats, including Odisha, using BharatNet infrastructure.
(b) Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme for setting up of 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots using the infrastructure of BSNL’s telephone exchanges in rural areas, including Odisha .

Further, the Cabinet has approved a proposal for providing mobile connectivity in inhabited and uncovered villages at 4072 tower locations identified by Ministry of Home Affairs in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas in 10 States in Phase-II. This includes 483 tower locations in Odisha using 2G + 4G technology.

In addition to above, Government has allocated 965 Megahertz spectrum through auction in October 2016 to various telecom service providers for access services in the country including Odisha. In this auction, the spectrum as detailed below has been allocated in Odisha:
<pre>
Spectrum Band Quantum of Spectrum Allocated
2100 MHz 5 MHz (Paired)
2300 MHz 20 MHz
2500 MHz 20 MHz
</pre>
In order to provide high speed internet services, 3G/4G networks are being rolled out progressively by the telecom service providers in rural as well as urban areas.