Parliament Question: BSNL's Initiatives to improve National and International Connectivity

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 173 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11TH FEBRUARY, 2026 BSNL'S INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY †*173. SHRI SURESH KUMAR KASHYAP: Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state: (a) the major initiatives/investments being driven or supported across the country by the BSNL to improve national and international connectivity and the regulatory/policy support provided by the Government in this regard; (b) the details of the communication services (like - Leased lines, VSAT, Internet Backhaul, Enterprise Data Services, etc.) being provided by BSNL in Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency of Himachal Pradesh at present; and (c) the additional steps/schemes being proposed or implemented by the Government to ensure better and reliable connectivity across the hilly and remote areas of the Shimla Lok Sabha constituency along with the timelines thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA) (a) to (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House. 1STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) to (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.173 FOR 11TH FEBRUARY, 2026 REGARDING “BSNL'S INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY.” (a) With a view to strengthen BSNL and to make them robust, competitive and viable, Government has approved three revival packages to BSNL amounting to approx. Rs. 3.22 Lakh crores. These packages cover capital infusion, debt restructuring, viability gap funding for rural telephony, and the provision of 4G/5G spectrum, among other measures. Further, following initiatives have also been taken to improve national and international connectivity:  In line with Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has ordered one lakh indigenously developed 4G sites for pan-India deployment; out of these, 97,672 sites are installed and 95,511 are on air as of 15.01.2026. The sites are 5G upgradable from technology perspective .  To enhance the network infrastructure and service quality, BSNL is executing the various schemes of Government such as 4G Saturation Scheme, Border Out Post (BOP)/ Border Intelligence Post (BIP), LWE Phase-I upgradation etc .The details of these schemes are available on https://usof.gov.in.  Further, BSNL is a key implementing agency in the BharatNet program, India’s largest rural broadband initiative, which aims to connect all Gram Panchayats and villages with high- speed internet through fiber, satellite, and wireless technologies. The program is being executed by BSNL for last-mile connectivity and operations.  BSNL has direct international connectivity with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, UK, USA, Bhutan, Canada and Hongkong to strengthen and support international voice communication services. (b) The detail of the services being provided by BSNL in Shimla Lok Sabha Constituency of Himachal Pradesh are, as below:- Total subscribers Services Leased Line & Enterprises Data 1,518 Services 20 VSAT 639 Internet Backhaul (c) In Shimla Lok Sabha constituency, BSNL has commissioned 710 numbers of 4G sites under Phase IX.2 and 4G saturation projects, to ensure better and reliable connectivity across the constituency. Further, Shimla Parliamentary Constituency of Himachal Pradesh comprises Solan, Shimla, and Sirmaur districts, covering a total of 24 development blocks. Out of these, 19 blocks are already connected through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) media. The Budget for connectivity to the remaining five blocks (Chopal, Nankhari, Kupvi, Shillai and Tirlokdhar) under Amended BharatNet Project has already been allotted. This would enable high speed broadband connectivity to all these gram panchayats. In addition to above, BSNL has approved a rehabilitation/replacement/new OFC laying work of approximately 90 km. **** 2