Bhubaneswar: Despite significant progress in expanding telecom infrastructure, 1,921 villages in Odisha remain without any mobile connectivity, according to a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by the Ministry of Communications.
Responding to a question by MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj on Thursday, the Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, said that out of 51,176 villages in Odisha (as per the Registrar General of India), 49,255 villages are currently covered by mobile networks. Among them, 48,490 villages have access to 4G connectivity.
In the tribal regions specifically, out of 19,519 villages, 18,302 have mobile coverage. The reply highlights that mobile coverage in uncovered inhabited villages is being expanded based on techno-commercial viability by telecom service providers (TSPs), both private and public.
A total of 98,848 Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) are operational in Odisha to provide mobile services. Of these, 88,360 BTSs have been installed by private telecom operators, while BSNL has set up 10,488 BTSs.
To bridge the digital divide in remote and tribal areas, the Government is implementing telecom connectivity projects under the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) scheme. As of June 2025, 3,113 mobile towers have been commissioned in Odisha under DBN-funded initiatives, covering 4,491 villages.
The Centre has so far disbursed ₹3,934 crore to Odisha under various DBN schemes, including for improving mobile network access in rural, remote, and tribal regions. The reply, however, did not specify a firm timeline for 100 per cent mobile coverage, though the ongoing efforts point to a phased approach backed by public funding and private participation.
