Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on laying foundation stone of various projects in Mana, Uttarakhand said, “There are two major pillars of the developed India of the 21^st century. First, pride in our heritage and second, all possible efforts for development and Uttarakhand is strengthening both these pillars”

In furthering the vision of Prime Minister and strengthening the pillar of development, Union Minister for Communications, Railways and Electronics & IT Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw and Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand launched 2,00,00^th 5G site at Gangotri and dedicated fibre connectivity at Chardham to the Nation at Dehradun in Uttarakhand today. Various senior officials from the Central and State Government also joined in person and virtually.

Prime Minister launched the 5G services on 1^st Oct 2022 and within 8 months of launch, 2,00,000 sites covering 700 districts have been installed. 5G network has been rolled out in all 28 states and 8 UTs now.  This is one of the fastest 5G rollouts in the world.

Chardhams (Badrinath, Kedarnath,Gangotri, Yamnotri) are now covered with 5G Mobile coverage. Most of the Towers in Chardham yatra route also have now been connected.

Fibre connectivity which supports extremely high Bandwidth will ensure extremely high internet bandwidth for seamless access for pilgrims visiting these locations and easing the lives of the public which is a part of Citizen-centric initiative of the Government. Voice & Video Call quality in & around temple premises and through the yatra route will henceforth be very good in spite of high numbers of footfall of Pilgrimages. Further, the entire trekking path (6 km) from Ghangaria to HemKund Sahib has also been covered with Mobile Services.

Addressing the gathering Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India is witnessing a Telecom Kranti. The 5G rollout has been one of the fastest roll out in the world with one site installed per minute. He added that it’s a matter of pride that 2,00,000^th 5G site is commissioned in Gangotri, CharDham.  He also said that in line with Prime Minister’s vision to lead in the 6G technology development, India has over 100 patents in 6G technology, which shows the prowess of the talented engineers and innovators of the country.  He further said, developed countries like USA are showing interest in Indian 4G/5G technology stack. He thanked the Uttarakhand Government for the support and faster clearances that helped in setting up Telecom services in Uttarakhand at a very faster pace.  

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami thanked the service providers for the support for commissioning telecom services in the remotest areas of the state. Connectivity in Chardhams will enable pilgrimages to stay connected to their kins and world. In Sanchar Kranti remotest villages are also being covered. He mentioned that Prime Minister said that 3^rd decade of 21^st century decade would be Uttarakhand’s decade.  He added that India is leading in technology. He elaborated that high-speed network in Mountains shall also enable in Disaster Management and surveillance in real time basis. He also mentioned that 40 per cent of all digital transactions happening in world is in India. He also said, India is setting global standards in 5G and India has come out as leader in mobile manufacturing. His address focussed on the key areas like Device, Digital Connectivity, Data rate and Digital first. He concluded that Centre and State Government are working in alignment to provide last mile connectivity to achieve the goal of Antyodaya.

Government of India is working relentlessly to provide world class connectivity to every remotest village and to every person in the country.

Various Initiatives for Telecom Connectivity in Uttarakhand

Ministry of Communications has put in place multiple programs and newer technologies to extend the reach of a very strong and affordable communication service even to the remotest corner of this state, at a fast pace.

Telecom Services today in the State of Uttarakhand is as under:

• 92.5 per cent of rural population has been covered with 4G mobile signal  (as on 30.04.2023, the state of Uttarakhand has 1.4 crore Mobile subscribers and 3.2 lakhs wireline subscribers).
• It is covered by 9,000 towers having 33,000 BTS
• Many of the Towers have been upgraded to 5G Capacity in Uttarakhand.

Over the years, the following Special Programs have been successfully executed in the state of Uttarakhand:

1. 354 USOF Scheme 56 Towers have been planned in Uttarakhand State, out of which 41 sites are made operational, works are in progress in rest of the sites.
2. 4G Saturation Scheme Total 1236 villages are planned to be covered under the scheme, new towers have been finalized at 360 village locations, additional 382 villages have also been proposed, and existing towers are being upgraded to 4G network at 77 locations. Survey is in progress to cover all the villages in the State with 4G mobile services.
3. Bharatnet Project: Under its Phase-I Project,  Total Plan was to cover 1849 Gram Panchayats (including BHQs); out of which 1816 villages/GPs have already been integrated (as on 22/05/2023). The remaining 33 GPs are now targeted for completion by June 2023.

RKJ/DK