Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Andhra Pradesh offers free land, subsidised power for 100% connectivity
The government of Andhra Pradesh in India wants everyone in the state, even people in tiny remote villages, to be able to use a mobile phone.
Phone companies were not building towers in those villages because there were too few customers to make money.
So the government decided to help them by giving them free government land to build their towers.
The companies also get cheaper electricity to run the towers.
The cheaper electricity lasts until a tower has about 450 customers.
Once there are about 450 customers, the tower makes enough money to pay normal electricity bills.
The companies must finish building the towers on time and make sure calls work between different networks.
The government will check the plan every three years to see if the help is still needed.
This helps people reach digital services like education, healthcare, banking and financial services.
The Andhra Pradesh government approved a policy to achieve 100 per cent mobile connectivity across the state.
Telecom service providers will get government land free of rental charges and subsidised power for towers in uncovered rural areas.
The electricity subsidy continues until each tower reaches an estimated break-even point of around 450 subscribers based on rural ARPU.
Operators must establish towers, supporting infrastructure and Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) facilities within prescribed timelines.
Support will be reviewed every three years; BSNL, Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are part of the implementation framework.
- Who
- The Andhra Pradesh government (Cabinet) and telecom service providers including BSNL, Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea.
- What
- Approval of a policy offering free government land and subsidised electricity for telecom towers to achieve 100 per cent mobile connectivity.
- When
- Operationalised through G.O. Rt. No. 55 issued on August 7, 2026; the official release was issued on a Saturday.
- Where
- Andhra Pradesh, India (announcement from Amaravati).
- Why
- To bridge the viability gap in remote, low-density rural areas where operators were reluctant to invest, supporting inclusive digital development and access to citizen services.
- State
- Andhra Pradesh
- Policy objective
- 100% mobile connectivity
- Land support
- Government land without rental charges
- Power support
- Subsidised power until towers become operationally viable
- Break-even threshold
- Approximately 450 subscribers per tower (based on rural ARPU)
- Review cycle
- Every three years
- Implementing order
- G.O. Rt. No. 55, issued August 7, 2026
- Participating operators
- BSNL, Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea
- Additional requirement
- Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) facilities within prescribed timelines
