Srinagar, Mar 25 (KNO): The Centre on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have achieved near-universal mobile connectivity, though a small number of villages in both Union Territories remain without coverage.
Replying to a starred question by MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said Jammu and Kashmir has a total of 6,474 villages, of which 6,226 are connected with mobile networks, leaving 248 villages still uncovered.
In terms of technology, 6,208 villages in J&K have 4G connectivity, while 3,704 villages have been covered under 5G services. Additionally, 530 villages have access to 3G and 6,030 villages are covered by 2G networks.
For Ladakh, out of 243 total villages, 233 have mobile connectivity, while 10 villages remain without coverage. The data shows that 229 villages in Ladakh have 4G services, 22 villages are covered by 5G, 78 villages have 3G connectivity, and 179 villages are under 2G coverage.
On the wired broadband front, 1,130 Gram Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir and 193 in Ladakh have been made service-ready under the BharatNet programme aimed at expanding rural broadband access.
The minister said the government is implementing projects such as BharatNet and the 4G saturation programme to extend connectivity to remote areas. Across the country, 24,263 mobile towers have been commissioned under these initiatives.
The Centre said challenges such as difficult terrain, sparse population and weather conditions continue to affect connectivity expansion in remote regions like Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, but efforts are ongoing to achieve universal coverage—(KNO)