Question : BSNL Telecom Network

(a) the details of mobile towers set up by BSNL and their network capacity in the various telecom circles, circle and State-wise;

(b) whether Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) plan to install mobile towers in low penetrated, backward, hilly areas and along international border to provide better mobile connectivity in the next phase;

(c) if so, the details thereof, State-wise and whether the Government has received proposals from State Governments including Assam for setting up mobile towers for better connectivity and to counter insurgency and infiltration through border;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the BSNL thereon along with the funds earmarked for the purpose;

(e) whether many mobile towers are still non-functional due to want of equipments,
lack of proper maintenance and supply of power; and

(f) if so, the details thereof, State-wise and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) Circle-wise details of mobile towers set up by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) alongwith their network capacity, are given in Annexure-I.

(b)to(d) BSNL is augmenting its mobile network in the country including backward, hilly areas and along international border as a part of its Phase-VII Project to create additional capacity of 15 million lines with addition of 14,232 number of 2G sites and 10,510 number of 3G sites at an estimated cost of Rs. 4804.77 crores. This will improve telecom facilities in rural/ backward/ hilly areas, providing state of the art equipment and enhancing its data carrying capabilities to provide faster data speeds to rural and urban customers. State-wise details of these additional sites are given in Annexure-II.

In addition, Government has assigned following projects to BSNL:-

• Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North-Eastern Region for provision of mobile services in uncovered villages in Arunachal Pradesh and two districts of Assam namely, KarbiAnglong and Dima Hasao at estimated project cost of Rs. 1975.38 crore.

• Implementation of Transmission-Media Plan for North Eastern Region at an estimated cost of Rs.295.97 crore.

• Implementation of providing mobile connectivity in 2199 identified locations in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas at an estimated cost of Rs. 3567.58 crores.

• Implementation of Comprehensive Telecom Development plan for Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands through augmentation of satellite connectivity/bandwidth at an estimated cost of Rs. 99.03 crores and augmentation of OFC network at a cost of Rs. 20 crores has been assigned to BSNL.

(e)&(f) BSNL has reported that some mobile towers are non-functional for want of equipment and non-availability of power supply. Details of non- functional BTSs are given in Annexure-III. The problem of non-functional BTSs due to lack of equipment will be resolved by equipments being installed by BSNL in Phase-VII expansion project. For other reasons, BSNL is pursuing the matter with State Governments and legal authorities.



ANNEXURE-I
Circle-wise details of BSNL mobile towers and network capacity as on 30-06-2015

Sl. No Name of circle Capacity of network 2G BTS 3G BTS
1 Haryana 2,948,426 2,078 905
2 Himachal Pradesh 1428944 1,215 285
3 Jammu & Kashmir 1374291 1,193 427
4 Punjab 3901571 3,281 1,416
5 Rajasthan 4489959 4,085 1,288
6 Uttarakhand 1124111 962 432
7 Uttar Pradesh (East) 6979900 5,472 1,298
8 Uttar Pradesh (West) 3286762 2,581 1,245
9 Andaman & Nicobar islands 400000 145 43
10 Assam 1407739 1,376 773
11 Bihar 2608518 2,522 734
12 Kolkata 1340100 1,212 642
13 Jharkhand 2000918 1,306 831
14 North East I 868892 712 258
15 North East II 733581 624 203
16 Odisha 3052750 2,796 1,083
17 West Bengal 2885898 2,483 629
18 Chhattisgarh 2045678 1,880 429
19 Gujarat 4549663 4,559 2,177
20 Maharashtra 6670071 7,224 2,387
21 Madhya Pradesh 3064455 3,698 1,095
22 Andhra Pradesh 8396111 7,521 3,097
23 Chennai 1879532 1,875 782
24 Kerala 6215513 5,309 1,708
25 Karnataka 5713065 5,633 1,439
26 Tamil Nadu 8025139 5,833 1,530
Total 87,391,587 77,575 27,136

Note: North East-I includes Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram
North East IIincludes Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland
West Bengal includes Sikkim
Maharashtra includes Goa
Andhra Pradesh includes Telangana


Annexure-II
Circle-wise details of sites under Phase-VII GSM Expansion Project

Sl. No. Name of Circle No of 3G BTS No of 2G BTS
1. Haryana 500 719
2. Himachal Pradesh 110 317
3. Jammu & Kashmir 25 130
4. Punjab 574 722
5. Rajasthan 229 595
6. Uttarakhand 139 320
7. Uttar Pradesh(East) 870 1,172
8. Uttar Pradesh(West) 620 949
9. Andaman & Nicobar islands 0 52
10. Assam 70 174
11. Bihar 228 1,150
12. Kolkata 163 166
13. Jharkhand 231 246
14. North East-I 245 328
15. North East-II 254 258
16. Odisha 925 1,355
17. West Bengal 390 520
18. Chhattisgarh 126 126
19. Gujarat 379 393
20. Maharashtra 531 574
21. Madhya Pradesh 286 281
22. Andhra Pradesh 1,890 1,892
23. Chennai 190 0
24. Kerala 795 647
25. Karnataka 320 636
26. Tamil Nadu 420 510
Grand Total 10,510 14,232

.


Annexure-III
Circle-wise details of non-functional BTSs of BSNL
Sl. No. Name of Circle Total no of non-functional towers
1 Andaman & Nicobar islands 1
2 Bihar 32
3 Gujarat 63
4 Himachal Pradesh 28
5 Jammu & Kashmir 21
6 Jharkhand 60
7 Karnataka 7
8 Maharashtra 92
9 Madhya Pradesh 259
10 Odisha 214
11 Punjab 56
12 Rajasthan 202
13 Tamil Nadu 29
14 Uttar Pradesh (East) 195
15 Uttar Pradesh (West) 207
16 Uttarakhand 83
17 West Bengal 134
18 Kolkata 5
19 Chennai 1
Total 1,689

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