Parliament Question: Upgrade 4G/5G Network Services

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1945 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11TH FEBRUARY, 2026 UPGRADE 4G/5G NETWORK SERVICES †1945. SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the increase in length of optical fiber cable has led to improvement in broadband speed, reliability of network and preparations for 4G/5G;

(b) if so, the measurable outcomes in the context of network performance;

(c) whether the OFC connectivity has been helpful in expansion of digital services like governance, education and telemedicine; and

(d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) & (b) Yes, sir. Details of measurable outcomes in the context of network performance

across the country are as follows:

(i) Mobile broadband speed: Average mobile broadband download speed has increased from 13.67 Mbps in March 2022 to 132.00 Mbps in December 2025 as per Ookla’s global speedtest index.

(ii) Network reliability: As per the report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI) for December 2025, all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) met all Quality of Service (QoS) benchmarks for network-related parameters for the 4G/5G network.

(iii) 4G/5G readiness: The number of the 4G/5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) increased by 51.33% from 16.91 lakh as on 31.3.2022 to 25.59 lakh as on 31.12.2025.

(iv) Latency: As per TRAI report, latency in September 2025 is less than 75 milliseconds and the cumulative downtime (cells not available for service) is within the specified limits of less than 2%.

(c) & (d) Yes, sir. The expansion of Optical fibre cable (OFC) connectivity and improved broadband/internet connectivity have supported Digital India initiatives and accelerated the adoption of digital services nationwide. The status of some of the key e-governance initiatives is as follows:

(i) Aadhaar is the world’s largest digital identity system that provides biometric and demographic data based unique digital identity. Over 143 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated so far.

1(ii) DigiLocker has enabled access on anytime, anywhere basis to authenticate digital documents from the original issuer for the common citizen. More than 65.01 crore users are registered with DigiLocker to avail of its services.

(iii) The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) mobile application for all government services is operational and offers over 2,390 services for individuals. It has witnessed cumulative 726.43 crore transactions.

(iv) CSCs are offering government and business services in the assisted digital mode. Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs. As of December 2025, 5.87 lakh CSCs were functional across the country, in both rural and urban areas, of which 4.57 lakh were functional at the Gram Panchayat level in rural areas.

(v) Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA), which was initiated to reach functional digital literacy in 6 crore rural households (one person per household) nationwide, has reached 6.39 crore individuals.

(vi) During the financial year 2024-25, total digital payments transactions were 23,834 crore. The number of such transactions in the current financial year, till 4.2.2026, is 20,856 crore.

Further, out of 6,44,131 villages in the country (village data as per the office of the Registrar General of India), around 6,34,955 villages are covered with mobile connectivity, including 6,31,834 villages having 4G mobile connectivity. Thus, 98.09% villages have access to the internet.

As of 30.9.2025, out of a total of 101.78 crore internet subscribers in India, 42.77 crore are rural subscribers and 59.01 crore are urban subscribers. ***** 2