According to the Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on August 20, 2025, as of June 2025, out of 45,934 villages in the north eastern region (NER), 42,093 villages are covered with mobile connectivity and out of these, 40,663 villages have 4G mobile connectivity.
Mobile coverage for any uncovered inhabited villages is provided by the telecom service providers (TSPs) based on techno-commercial viability. Additionally, Government, through funding from Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), is implementing various projects and schemes for expansion of telecom connectivity through installation of mobile towers in the rural, remote, and border areas of the country, including the NER.
The DBN projects under comprehensive telecom development plan (CTDP) for the NER are aimed at providing mobile connectivity to uncovered villages and areas along national highways, with the objective of extending mobile network access to underserved population in the region. As on June 2025, 2,485 mobile towers have been commissioned under DBN schemes in NER, providing mobile connectivity to 3,389 villages or locations.
Furthermore, BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide connectivity to all the gram panchayats (GP) for broadband services, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots and fibre to the home (FTTH) connections. The Union Cabinet has also approved the amended BharatNet program for provisioning of connectivity to all GPs in the country in ring topology, including upgrading the existing network and connectivity to about 0.38 million non-GP villages on demand basis. As of June 2025, 6,355 GPs have been made service-ready and 12,283 FTTH connections have been provided under BharatNet project in NER.
The telecom connectivity provided under DBN projects has, moreover, led to equitable access to communications and digital services for education, healthcare, and e-governance in remote and border districts.
