Bhubaneswar: Around 6,549 villages in Odisha are still not covered by mobile connectivity, according to data from telecom service providers (TSPs) and the field units of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in 2019.
Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre said this in reply to a query by Aska MP Pramila Bisoyi in Parliament.
Dhotre explained that mobile coverage in such villages is being provided in a phased manner. Installation of 158 towers in Odisha under left wing extremism (LWE) Phase-II project has been approved, he added.
In the Phase-1 of LWE, 256 mobile towers were installed with 22 of them in Ganjam.
State-run BSNL will be installing two base transceiver stations (BTS) under Surada assembly constituency and three more under Aska parliamentary constituency, the minister said.
Around 6,793 gram panchayats will have 100 Mbps broadband internet access as well.
At present, Odisha has 3,65,91,666 mobile connections, the minister informed.
