The Union government has launched a comprehensive action plan to permanently address the problem of mobile connectivity in villages across Andhra Pradesh that remain outside the telecom network, Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandrasekhar has said.

Speaking at his camp office on Sunday after meeting representatives of Indus Towers and other stakeholders, the Minister said the issue of mobile network gaps in rural Andhra Pradesh was being treated as a priority under the Centre’s Digital India agenda. Industry representatives briefed him on operational challenges related to the installation of new towers and expansion of services in remote locations.

The Minister said that as soon as it came to his notice that as many as 414 villages in the State lacked adequate mobile connectivity, immediate steps were initiated. Field-level assessments revealed that 120 villages did not have a single mobile tower, leaving residents completely disconnected from telecom services.