Guntur: The Union government is moving forward with a comprehensive action plan to resolve the issue of villages without mobile connectivity in AP, said Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar.

Representatives of Indus Towers met him at his camp office here on Sunday and explained the difficulties related to the installation of mobile towers and other related issues.

Speaking on this occasion, he said that as soon as it came to his notice that 414 villages in the state lack mobile connectivity, he initiated action on a priority basis. He said it was found that 120 villages do not have even a single mobile tower.

Under the Digital Bharat Nidhi scheme, works have been taken up to install new mobile towers in these 120 villages at a cost of Rs 120 crore, he added.

He said, “In more than 250 other villages, although towers exist, issues such as having only one tower, incomplete network coverage across the village, or services being limited to a single telecom company are affecting connectivity.

To strengthen connectivity in these villages, meetings were held with private telecom companies and representatives. They were encouraged to come forward to install additional towers and expand services in these areas. The Central government will provide all necessary support and coordination to ensure better mobile connectivity for people in rural areas. Mobile connectivity in villages is no longer a luxury, but a basic necessity. Taking the Digital India Mission to the grassroots level is the primary objective of the Central government. Through these measures, rural areas of AP will move forward with complete mobile connectivity in line with the Digital India vision.”