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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2250
TO BE ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026
TELECOMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN KONKAN REGION
2250 # SHRI DHAIRYASHIL MOHAN PATIL:
Will the Minister of Communications be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government has conducted district-wise audit of strengthening of
telecommunication towers and fiber outages in the Konkan region of Maharashtra;
(b) the number of mobile towers and BharatNet nodes found to be non-functional during the last
two monsoon seasons in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigad; and
(c) whether any region-specific strengthening plan is currently being implemented or proposed
to ensure uninterrupted digital connectivity in this coastal disaster-prone area, and if so, the details
thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)
(a) Monitoring and strengthening of telecommunication towers and fiber outages are carried out
by Telecom Service Providers (TSP) through their network monitoring system. Further, field unit of
Department of Telecommunications have also conducted drive tests for better assessment of quality
of mobile network in Konkan region of Maharashtra.
(b) Around 50 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) of M/s Vodafone Idea Limited were found to be
non-functional for significant time during the last two monsoon seasons during heavy rains which
were restored on priority basis. The number of BharatNet nodes found to be non-functional during
last two monsoon seasons in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Raigarh districts are as follows:
No. of Non-Functional GPs under BharatNet during last two monsoon seasons
Monsoon Season-2024 Monsoon Season-2025
S.No. District
(June to Sept) (June to Sept)
1 Sindhudurg 460 1,217
2 Raigad 3,204 3,207
3 Ratnagiri 1,317 1,645
Total 4,981 6,069
(c) TSP-wise strengthening plan to ensure uninterrupted digital connectivity in this coastal
disaster-prone area is as under:
1S.No. Name of TSP Region specific plan
1 Bharti Airtel Ltd. Expanding its network by rolling out 5G services across all
districts, including hard-to-reach Konkan and coastal
areas.
2 BSNL BSNL 4G saturation project and upgradation of 2G/3G
sites to 4G under IX.2 project, is currently being
implemented to ensure uninterrupted digital connectivity
in the coastal disaster-prone area.
3 Reliance Jio Network strengthening and other requirements are based
Infocomm Ltd. on performance and business requirements and are
implemented accordingly.
4 Vodafone Idea Ltd. New Fiber route being established from Ratnagiri to Goa,
which will strengthen the network availability in the
Konkan Area
Apart from above, in case of disaster in the region, as per Standard Operating Procedure
(SOP)-2020 for telecommunication services, License Service Areas conduct State Telecom Disaster
Coordination Committee (STDCC) meetings with TSPs, State Government authorities and National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assess preparedness and coordinate necessary actions to ensure
early restoration of network.
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