Parliament Question: Allocation of upgradable equipments to States

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 13 ANSWERED ON 29TH JANUARY, 2026 ALLOCATION OF UPGRADABLE EQUIPMENTS TO STATES 13 DR. KANIMOZHI NVN SOMU: Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state: (a) the details of 83,993 installed 4G sites, including the 74,521 sites currently on air, and the number of 5G-upgradable equipments supplied to each State, State/UT-wise; (b) the criteria adopted for allocating 4G or 5G-upgradable equipments among States, including factors such as population density or coverage requirements; and (c) whether certain States have raised concerns regarding allocation and if so, the details thereof along with the response thereto? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR) (a) In line with Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has placed purchase order for indigenously developed 4G sites for pan India deployment. Supply of 4G equipment has started from September 2023 and as on 15.01.2026, total 97,672 4G sites have been installed and 95,511 sites are ON-Air. The equipment is 5G upgradable from technology perspective. The State/UT-wise details of deployment of BSNL 4G sites are attached at Annexure-A. (b) & (c) At present, only existing sites have been upgraded to 4G. ***** 1Annexure-A of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 13 for 29.01.2026. State-wise Data of Deployment of 4G sites as on 15.01.2026 Sl No. of 4G Sites No. of 4G Sites No. of 4G Sites State/UTs No Planned Installed Commissioned 1 Andaman & Nicobar 334 270 253 2 Andhra Pradesh 6132 6108 6045 3 Assam 2380 2307 2160 4 Bihar 2958 2958 2869 5 Chhattisgarh 2867 2867 2833 6 Delhi 1886 1000 882 7 Gujarat 4718 4674 4667 Dadra and Nagar Haveli & 72 72 72 8 Daman and Diu 9 Haryana 2056 2056 2056 10 Himachal Pradesh 1984 1959 1947 11 Jammu & Kashmir 1778 1727 1650 12 Ladakh 469 395 325 13 Jharkhand 2887 2870 2761 14 Karnataka 5285 5278 5273 15 Kerala 6884 6884 6884 16 Lakshadweep 47 47 47 17 Madhya Pradesh 4909 4905 4741 18 Maharashtra 10354 9628 9349 19 Goa 242 242 241 20 Meghalaya 518 468 432 21 Mizoram 188 167 121 22 Tripura 572 557 539 23 Arunachal Pradesh 935 930 504 24 Manipur 425 312 297 25 Nagaland 497 480 415 26 Odisha 5841 5821 5553 27 Punjab 3598 3598 3598 28 Chandigarh 138 138 138 29 Rajasthan 5665 5665 5665 30 Sikkim 175 131 110 31 Tamil Nadu 7323 7321 7321 32 Puducherry 209 209 209 33 Telangana 3027 3023 3008 34 Uttarakhand 1795 1795 1761 35 Uttar Pradesh 6920 6898 6894 36 West Bengal 3932 3912 3891 Total 100000 97672 95511 ***** 2