(a) whether the Government has proposed to update 2G mobile services to 4G in the Left Wing Extremism(LWE) areas;
(b) if so, the state-wise details thereof and the tentative timeline for completion;
(c) the details of the funds proposed to be spent for updation, state-wise;
(d) whether any LWE areas have been left out of the scope of this proposed project; and
(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS
(SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)
(a) Yes Sir, Government has decided to upgrade the 2,343 existing 2G sites earlier commissioned by BSNL under Left Wing Extremism (LWE) Phase-I project to 4G.
(b) Tentative time line for completion of project is 12 months from the date of roll out of 4G services by BSNL in India. State wise details of no. of tower locations is enclosed as Annexure-I.
(c) Details of the fund proposed to be spent for upgradation is enclosed as Annexure-II.
(d) & (e) Apart from LWE Phase-I Project, LWE Phase-II project is also under implementation for covering 2,542 tower locations identified by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the LWE affected areas across 10 States. State wise details of the locations is enclosed as Annexure-III.