Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai LSA have 100% 4G population coverage

Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai are the lone three telecom circles in the entire country that currently have 100 per cent 4G population coverage as per the statistics laid on the floor of Rajya Sabha today. As per the details of percentage population coverage through 4G networks, nearly 98 per cent of the total Indian population is already covered through 4G mobile network’s.

The 4G population coverage across all LSAs is over 90 percent bar North East. Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata have 100 percent coverage while other LSAs lag with 4G population coverage somewhere between 80-99 per cent.

Punjab is closest to Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata with 99.9 per cent 4G population coverage. Punjab is followed by Tamil Nadu and Haryana both of which have 99.5 per cent 4G population coverage.

“Nearly 98% of total Indian population is already covered through 4G mobile networks and with the ongoing expansion of the networks by the TSPs, more percentage of the population will get covered by the 4G mobile network,” said Minister of Communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

He further added that sufficient infrastructural and technological capabilities required for 4G technology exist in the rural and remote areas of India with DoT taking policy initiatives to facilitate the expansion of mobile telecommunication services in the country.

The policy initiatives include the availability of a sufficient spectrum for mobile services including an auction of 965 MHz and 856 MHz in the years 2016 and 2021 respectively. DoT has further allowed spectrum sharing, spectrum trading, and liberalisation of the administratively allocated spectrum, permitted sharing of active as well as passive infrastructure by the telecom service providers for achieving higher utilisation efficiency, permitted Internet Protocol (IP) based interconnections between TSPs, discontinued Wireless Operating License for Access Spectrum in November 2016 to facilitate the faster rollout of the wireless network, notified Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016 for regulating underground infrastructure (optical fibre) and over-ground infrastructure (mobile towers), and conduct of periodic reviews of expansion of mobile networks and related improvements carried out by the TSPs.