New Delhi . According to the information given in Parliament on Wednesday, the total number of mobile users in the country has reached 115.12 crore as of October 31.
Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Chandrashekhar Pemmasani, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that out of 6,44,131 villages in the country, about 6,23,622 villages now have mobile coverage.
Mobile coverage is provided in unpopulated villages by the government and telecom service providers (TSPs) in a phased manner.
The Union Minister said that apart from this, the government is implementing various schemes and projects under the Digital India Fund (DBN) for expanding telecom connectivity through installation of mobile towers in rural, remote and hilly areas of the country.
The BharatNet project (formerly known as National Optical Fiber Network), funded by the Digital India Fund, is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country.
The revised BharatNet program for upgrading the existing network of BharatNet PhaseI and PhaseII, construction of network in the remaining approximately 42,000 Gram Panchayats, operation and maintenance for 10 years and utilization at a total cost of Rs 1,39,579 crore has been approved by the Cabinet. Was approved.
Last week, the government reported that mobile network coverage in rural India has reached nearly 97 percent and 6,14,564 villages are covered with 4G mobile connectivity.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Dr. Pemmasani said that under the Pradhan Mantri Janjatya Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM Janman) of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, 4,543 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) settlements have been identified as deprived of mobile connectivity. and out of these, 1,136 PVTG settlements have been covered with mobile connectivity.
Meanwhile, 5G services are available in 779 out of 783 districts in the country as of October 31. Additionally, more than 4.6 lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) have been installed in the country.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.