(a) whether there is a proposal to provide mobile telephones to rural women for commercial use in Andhra Pradesh;
(b) if so the details thereof; and
(c) the time by which the said facility is likely to be provided ?
(a) whether there is a proposal to provide mobile telephones to rural women for commercial use in Andhra Pradesh;
(b) if so the details thereof; and
(c) the time by which the said facility is likely to be provided ?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI TAPAN SIKDAR)
(a) to (c) : Sir, in Andhra Pradesh Telecom Circle service area, licences for operation of Cellular Mobile Telephone Service have been granted to M/s. Tata Cellular Ltd and M/s. Bharti Mobiles Limited. A licence has also been granted to Maharashtra Telecom Circle of Department of Telecom Services (DTS) for provision of Cellular Service. As per the licence agreement, there is no requirement of mandatory coverage of rural areas by the cellular operators. It is the obligation of Fixed Service Providers including DTS to provide rural coverage. A Committee has been set up to explore provision of Village Panchayat Telephones (VPTs) using Cellular Networks. The Committee shall, interalia, suggest the possible arrangement between private cellular operators and fixed service providers for the purpose.
The private cellular operators in Andhra Pradesh Telecom Circle have indicated to the effect that under certain arrangement with Government of Andhra Pradesh, they are likely to provide mobile telephones for commercial use to rural women. Any such arrangement will, however, have to be within the terms and conditions of the licence agreement.