3G-4G: Government claims, 4G connectivity has reached 95.15% villages of the country

Although it has been two years since 5G was launched, there are still talks about 3-4G. The government has said that 3G-4G network connectivity has reached 95.15 percent of the villages in the country. This information was given by the Ministry of Communications (MOC) on Friday. These figures are till April 2024. The government emphasized that universal connectivity and Digital India initiatives are reaching all areas including tier-2 and tier-3 cities and villages.

Under the Digital India initiative, the government said it has taken several initiatives to connect not only metros but also tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well as rural and remote areas. The ministry highlighted that the total number of internet subscribers is expected to grow from 251.59 million in March 2014 to 954.40 million in March 2024.

As of March 2024, out of the total 954.40 million internet subscribers in India, 398.35 million are rural internet subscribers. Further, as of April 2024, out of 6,44,131 villages in the country (as per data from the Registrar General of India), 6,12,952 villages have 3G/4G mobile connectivity. Thus, 95.15 percent of villages have access to the internet, the Communications Ministry informed.

Highlighting the BharatNet project, the government said that all the gram panchayats of the country are to be connected with optical fiber cable (OFC) connectivity. The ministry said that out of a total of 2,22,000 gram panchayats under both, 2,13,000 phases of BharatNet have been made ready for service. The government said that the target of the revised BharatNet program is to provide optical fiber connectivity to 42,000 untouched gram panchayats and the remaining 3,84,000 villages on demand, as well as provide 15 million rural household fiber connections.