Three in four villages that lacked 4G in 2022 now have it; Odisha has the most left

The number of Indian villages without 4G mobile coverage has fallen by about three-quarters in four years. It dropped from 45,180 in 2022 to 11,372 in 2026, according to government figures obtained under the Right to Information Act and reported by The Hindu on 9 November.

Most of the gain came from BSNL’s 4G saturation project, which the Union government funds to put up towers in villages that private operators had skipped. The fall is larger than the project’s first target of 24,680 villages, which shows that private companies also extended their networks.

Where the gaps remain

• Odisha: 1,789 villages without 4G, more than 300 of them uninhabited
• Arunachal Pradesh: 1,518 villages
• People affected: about 40 lakh
• Share living in villages where Scheduled Tribes are the majority: 46%

The list has some errors. It includes eight villages in Kerala, though a reply in Parliament in March said every village in the State had coverage.

Why it matters

Without 4G, people in these villages cannot easily use mobile banking, UPI payments or the online services through which many government schemes now work. The largest gaps are in Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh, and in tribal areas.

A separate report put the number of villages still outside 4G at 11,256 as of May 2026. Figures differ because the lists are updated as towers go live.

What’s next

The Union government has sanctioned the next order of about 26,000 tower sites under the project. No date has been given for covering every remaining village.