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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2259
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026
TELECOM INFRASTRUCTURE IN TAMIL NADU
2259 SHRI ANTHIYUR P. SELVARASU:
Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government has assessed mobile network gaps, call drop incidences and weak data
coverage in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, including Sathyamangalam, Thalavadi and Hasanur routes
affecting emergency communication and daily services;
(b) if so, the details of Government tower augmentation, fibre backhaul strengthening, coverage
audits, drive tests, penalties for service deficiency and complaint disposal measures carried out in
Erode district; and
(c) the measures proposed to be taken by Government to ensure reliable mobile coverage, faster
restoration during outages and enforce service quality standards in the said district?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)
(a) & (b) As per Performance Monitoring Report published by Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) for the month of January 2026 for Access (Wireless) Service, all
Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are meeting benchmarks of all networks related Quality of
Service (QoS) parameters for Tamil Nadu License Service Area which includes Erode District.
Further, Operator Assisted Drive test was conducted by TRAI in Erode and other places from
28.02.2023 to 03.03.2023 and from 23.02.2026 to 26.02.2026. 45 Base Transceiver Station (BTS)
sites were optimized and 12 new BTS radiated for improving coverage and quality of service.
Network assessment was also done by field unit of Department of Telecommunications in
Gundri village of Sathyamangalam Block and Maharajapuram in Thalavadi block as per request
received from Department of Finance and resident of Maharajapuram respectively. In Erode district,
all 306 villages are covered with mobile services.
As per Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System Portal, total 11 network
related complaints were received in last three years and were disposed off.
(c) Following measures have been taken by the government to ensure reliable mobile
coverage, faster restoration during outages and enforce service quality standards:
1i. Uncovered villages are being provided coverage under various Digital Bharat Nidhi schemes.
ii. TRAI has revised Quality of Service benchmarks on 02.08.2024 applicable from 01.10.2024 for
various parameters, and performance of service providers against the benchmark is regularly
monitored by TRAI to ensure better quality of services.
iii. Assignment of sufficient spectrum for mobile services through auction.
iv. Spectrum sharing, trading and surrender has been permitted for efficient use of spectrum.
v. Simplification of Procedure for SACFA (Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency
Allocations) clearance.
vi. Notification of Telecommunications Right of Way (RoW) Rules and launch of PM GatiShakti
Sanchar portal has resulted in streamlining of RoW permissions and expeditious clearance for
installation of telecom infrastructure.
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