(a) whether most of the States in the country have been
connected with Optical Fibre Cable for better
telecommunication and internet service up to the level of
sub-divisional headquarters;
(b) if so, the facts thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to introduce it in the
North-East States;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) the time by which this work is likely to be started;
and
(f) if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DISINVESTMENT (ARUN SHOURIE)
(a) to (f) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA IN
RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (f) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION
NO. 137 FOR 10TH DECEMBER, 2003 REGARDING OPTICAL FIBRE
CABLE IN NORTH-EAST STATES.
(a) Most of the States have been connected with Optical
Fibre Cable (OFC) to the level of District Headquarters
(DHQ) and a few Sub-Divisional Headquarters (SDHQ) based on
traffic justification, bandwidth requirement and economic
viability. Internet Service is available in District
Headquarters and Sub-Divisional Headquarters and also in
smaller places on dial up basis.
(b) All telephone exchanges in Delhi and Mumbai have OFC
connectivity. In the rest of the country, 541 District
Headquarters out of 584 District Headquarters and 1498 Sub-
Divisional Headquarters out of 1642 Sub-Divisional
Headquarters have been connected with Optical Fibre Cable.
41 District Headquarters and 127 Sub-Divisional Headquarters
have been provided connectivity on reliable media such as
microwave and satellite communication systems depending upon
traffic and geographical terrain. 2 District Headquarters
and 17 Sub-Divisional Headquarters are not having telephone
exchanges due to insufficient demand. Details are given in
the Annexure.
(c) to (f): In the North East States, Optical Fibre Cable
connectivity has already been introduced for 49 District
Headquarters and 98 Sub-Divisional Headquarters where
traffic justification, technical feasibility and economic
viability exist. Work for Optical Fibre Cable connectivity
has been started for 6 district Headquarters in North-East
States. Other district Headquarters and Sub-divisional Head
Quarters in very remote locations and hilly terrain are
being served by high capacity Satellite communication
systems or Microwave systems.
ANNEXURE
DETAILS OF OFC CONNECTIVITY TO DHQs & SDHQs
Sl. Name of State No. of No. of No. of No. of No. DHQs DHQs SDHQs SDHQs with with OFC OFC
1 Andhra Pradesh 23 23 73 73 2 Assam 23 22 48 41 3 Bihar 38 38 97 94 4 Jharkhand 22 22 35 35 5 Gujarat 25 25 46 46 6 Haryana 19 19 45 45 7 Himachal Pradesh 12 10 51 39 8 Jammu & Kashmir 14 8 12 8 9 Kerala 14 14 21 21 10 Karnataka 27 27 52 52 11 Madhya Pradesh 45 45 146 146 12 Chattisgarh 16 16 56 53 13 Maharashtra 35 35 112 111 14 Mizoram 8 1 17 2 15 Nagaland 11 3 22 4 16 Tripura 4 4 15 14 17 Arunachal Pradesh 16 4 36 6 18 Manipur 9 6 34 13 19 Meghalaya 7 5 15 9 20 Orissa 30 30 58 57 21 Punjab 18 18 68 68 22 Rajasthan 32 32 105 105 23 Tamilnadu 28 28 58 58 24 Uttar Pradesh(E) 50 50 204 191 25 Uttar Pradesh(W) 20 20 87 87 26 Uttranchal 13 13 52 43 27 West Bengal 14 14 58 58 28 Sikkim 4 4 9 9 29 Andaman & Nicobar 2 0 0 0 30 Kolkatta(Telecom Dist.) 4 4 10 10 31 Chennai(Telecom Dist.) 1 1 0 0
Total 584 541 1642 1498
Note: 1. 41 District Headquarters and 127 Sub-Divisional Headquarters have been provided connectivity on reliable media such as microwave and satellite communication systems depending upon traffic and geographical terrain.
2. 2 District Headquarters and 17 Sub-Divisional Headquarters are not having telephone exchanges due to insufficient demand.