40k Villages Get 4G in 4 Years

The number of villages without 4G connectivity in India has fallen by three-fourths in four years, from 45,180 in 2022 to 11,372. This significant reduction is partly due to BSNL's 4G saturation project and complementary efforts by private operators.

The Union government has sanctioned the next order of 26,000 sites for 4G connectivity, indicating a continued push to expand coverage. BSNL's efforts have been supplemented by intra-circle agreements with Vodafone Idea Ltd in 12 or 13 circles.

Odisha has the highest number of villages without 4G coverage, at 1,789, as of August 31. Arunachal Pradesh ranks second, with 1,518 villages, roughly a tenth of which are uninhabited. Other states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh, have also reduced the number of villages without 4G connectivity by well over half.

Around 40 lakh people may live in villages without 4G reception, which is roughly 0.25% of India's estimated population. Scheduled Tribe-dominated villages account for the bulk of the population in villages without 4G connectivity, with 46% of the population in these villages.

## Why it matters The reduction in villages without 4G connectivity is notable due to historical gaps in connectivity between urban and rural India. While cities and towns often enjoy extensive high-speed 5G coverage and affordable wired home broadband, rural areas have lagged behind. The development is significant as mobile broadband is the primary means of internet access for Indians, and additions to wired broadband subscriptions have stagnated for months.

The challenge of deploying rural internet at scale remains, with villages being relatively sparse and the cost of building fiber and setting up phone towers being prohibitively expensive. However, the progress made so far is a step towards bridging the digital divide between urban and rural India.

## What happens next The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has yet to finish procedures to approve any satellite internet provider, which could potentially bring the number of villages without 4G connectivity down to zero. With the Union government's continued push to expand 4G coverage, it is likely that the number of unconnected villages will continue to decline in the coming years.