Parliament Question: Telecommunication Infrastructure and Network Expansion

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 656 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05TH FEBRUARY, 2026 TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE AND NETWORK EXPANSION 656 # DR. SANDEEP KUMAR PATHAK: Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state: (a) the current status of 4G and 5G network coverage in the country; (b) the details of actual situation regarding network quality, internet speed and connectivity in rural, tribal and remote areas; (c) the number of Gram Panchayats connected through broadband so far under the BharatNet project, year-wise and State-wise; (d) Government's time-bound plan to connect the remaining Gram Panchayats and remote areas with broadband and mobile networks; and (e) the details of budget allocated for this purpose and the mechanism implemented to monitor progress and ensure accountability? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR) (a) A total of 20,40,850 4G BTSs and 5,18,854 5G BTSs have been installed in the country as on 31.12.2025. (b) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) monitors the performance of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) against the benchmarks for various Quality of Service (QoS) parameters laid down by TRAI. Details are available at https://trai.gov.in/release-publication/qos-reports/pmr- reports. (c) The year-wise and state-wise details of Gram Panchayats connected under the BharatNet project are available at https://usof.gov.in/en/parliament-questions. (d) BharatNet is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats (GPs). The total number of GPs undertaken under BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II are 2,22,341 GPs, out of which 2,14,904 are Service Ready. Further, the Government has approved the Amended BharatNet Program (ABP) under Design, Built, Operate & Maintain (DBOM) model for up-gradation of existing network of BharatNet Phase-I and Phase-II, creation of network in balance GPs, Operation & Maintenance for 10 years and utilization. As on 31.12.2025, 31,515 villages out of 38,270 identified uncovered villages have been covered with 4G mobile connectivity through Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) funded mobile projects. (e) Rs. 9,650 Crores has been received in current financial year 2025-26 for DBN projects. Implementation of BharatNet is periodically reviewed by the Government and also in State Broadband Committee(s) and District Level Telecom Committee(s). ***** 1