(a) the percentage of tele-density in rural and urban areas
of Andhra Pradesh;
(b) the number of Village Public Telephones (VPTs) in the
State of Andhra Pradesh, district-wise; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to increase telephone
service in the rural areas of the State?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DR. SHAKEEL AHMAD)
(a) In Andhra Pradesh, the percentage of tele-density in
rural areas is 2.38 and that in urban areas is 28.84 as on 28-
02-2005.
(b) The total number of Village Public Telephones (VPTs) in
Andhra Pradesh is 24989 as on 31.3.2005 and the district-wise
details are given in the Annexure.
(c) The following steps are taken by BSNL to increase
telephone service in rural areas of the state:
(i) It is planned to add 2.2 lakh WLL lines of CDMA
technology during the current year to clear the scattered
demand including in the rural areas.
(ii) It is planned to add 9 lakh Mobile phone connections in
the state by which many villages will also be covered in the
state.
(iii) Relaxation of the outdoor cable from 2.5 kms to 5.0
kms for Landline Exchanges has been given.
(iv) Mobile network in all the highways, important towns;
pilgrim centers and State Highways are deployed to give
coverage to more areas.
In addition to the efforts made by BSNL, the demand for
telephones is also met by the private operators. Further,
financial support is provided to the telecom operators
through the mechanism of Universal Service Obligation
Fund (USO Fund) to encourage them, inter alia, to provide
phones in rural areas.
ANNEXURE
STATUS OF VILLAGE PUBLIC TELEPHONES
IN A.P. CIRCLE AS ON 31.3.2005
S.No Name of the District Number of Village Public Telephones
(VPTs) 1. Adilabad 1083 >2. Anantapur 1010 3. Chittoor 1441 4. Cuddapah 989 5. East Godavari 1020 6. Guntur 1019 7 Karimnagar 1088 8. Khammam 911 9. Krishna 1065 10. Kurnool 952 11. Mahabubnagar 1465 12. Medak 1173 13. Nalgonda 1142 14. Nellore 1149 15. Nizamabad 737 16. Prakasaivi 1050 17. Ranga Reddy 914 18. Srikakulam 1448 19. Visakhapatnam 956 20. Vizianagaram 1224 21. Warangal 716 22. West Godavari 1029 23. Hyderabad 0 Total 23581