Red Radicals, Tough Terrains Thwart Internet Penetration in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: In the aftermath of Covid-19 crisis, many states in India saw rapid expansion of the internet as the respective provincial governments, apparently awakened to the pressing need of online education, pursued the matter with the Union government.

However, Odisha is still far behind in internet penetration, largely because of the presence of Maoist forces in some forested areas and tough hilly terrains.

The stark reality of poor internet saturation has been confirmed by Union minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar during the ongoing session of the Parliament.

Replying to a written query by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Manas Ranjan Mangaraj, the minister said as many as 45,989 villages at present have voice coverage (2G/3G/4G). Of them 44,384 villages have 4G coverage.

Odisha has a total of 53,845 villages.

During the Convid-19 pandemic, as the schools were closed to check the spread of the disease, students were forced to stay indoors and pursue their education online. However, students in many parts of Odisha Odisha were not that fortunate to avail online classes due to poor network. Stories of students climbing trees and hills to access internet networks had stunned the entire country then. Dedicated teachers and volunteers downloaded online study content from various sites and rode bicycles and bikes loaded with video projectors to hilly and forest areas to teach underprivileged students.

“Odisha has poor network coverage in some of the rural areas like hilly terrains, tribal, backward and Left Wing Extremism (LWE )areas. The Union government, under the Digital India initiative, is giving emphasis on the expansion of digital infrastructure and affordable internet services in rural and remote areas. It aims to ensure inclusive access for all to the internet and digital technologies and applications on the internet,” admitted the minister.

Stating that the government has taken various steps to ensure rural internet affordability, particularly for economically disadvantaged communities, Chandrasekhar said many projects had been taken up to strengthen and expand internet coverage.

“Under Left Wing Extremism (LWE-II) projects, as many as 162 towers have been installed and made operational. Similarly, under the Under Aspirational Districts coverage projects, 149 towers have been installed and made operational. Similarly, the  4G saturation project has been undertaken by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for providing 4G services by installing new towers or by upgrading 2G services to 4G in Odisha,” the Union minister said.

According to a recent report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Odisha has a tele-density of75.23 per cent, placing it within the lowest quintile of states.

Chandrasekharan said the upgradation of LWE Phase I towers from 2G to 4G is being undertaken by BSNL. Besides, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is establishing Internet Exchange points (IXPs) in tier2 and tier-3 cities in addition to metros and big cities. NIXI has already commissioned IXPs (Internet exchange point) at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri in Odisha.