(a) whether only about 25 per cent of mobile towers are connected to fibre network in the country whereas this figure is more than 70 per cent in developed nations;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(c) the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
(d) whether the Government has fixed any time limit to tackle this situation and if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND
ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) to (d) Sir, as per details provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) about 31% of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites have been connected to fibre network in the country. Regarding developed nations, some technical reports indicate that percentage of BTS sites connected to fibre is higher.
Government facilitates the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) in addressing Right of Way (RoW) challenges through a collaborative institutional mechanism between Centre, States and Local Bodies for aligned policies, standardisation of costs and timelines leading to removal of barriers for approvals for laying fibre.
Under BharatNet, which is fully funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) of the Government of India and is one of the biggest rural telecom projects of the world, as on 15th November, 2019, 3,80,988 km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid connecting 1,40,668 Gram Panchayats by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC).
National Digital Communication Policy 2018 aims to enable fiberisation of atleast 60% of telecom towers by the year 2022. However, the infrastructure and equipment used for providing mobile communications belong to various Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and the decisions regarding connectivity to the BTS sites through fibre or other means is taken by TSPs based on various techno-commercial considerations.