Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said the State aims to emerge as a national model in digital communication by ensuring seamless last-mile connectivity and expanding mobile network coverage across urban and rural areas.
Reviewing the State’s communication network with senior officials and representatives of telecom service providers at the camp office, Mr. Naidu directed operators to strengthen mobile connectivity, particularly in remote and underserved regions.
He asked telecom companies to expedite the installation of additional cell towers and assured them of the government’s support in facilitating the required infrastructure. The Chief Minister said the proposed towers should be completed within 100 days and that the government would identify geographical areas that continue to suffer from inadequate mobile coverage.
IT and Communications Secretary Katamaneni Bhaskar informed the Chief Minister that Andhra Pradesh currently has 30,694 cell towers and requires another 2,310 towers to improve network coverage across the State.
Mr. Naidu also reviewed plans to establish a modern fibre-optic communication network in Amaravati. He said every household in the capital city would receive fibre connectivity without the need for repeated road excavations. Officials informed the meeting that Andhra Pradesh already has a fibre-optic network stretching over 1,69,638 km and about 2.867 million broadband connections.
The Chief Minister urged telecom service providers to partner with the government in promoting digital literacy among mobile users. Better digital awareness, he said, would help citizens make greater use of government services available through the Mana Mitra WhatsApp Governance platform, the Sanjeevani programme and other digital service platforms.
He said improved digital literacy would also prepare people to access AI-enabled public services, including AI Agronomist, AI Doctor and AI Tutor, which the government plans to roll out in the future.
Mr. Naidu said Kuppam Assembly constituency was being developed as a pilot project to provide comprehensive mobile coverage, adding that the initiative could serve as a model for the rest of the State.
The review meeting was attended by representatives of the Department of Telecommunications, BSNL, Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea.
Published – June 30, 2026 08:58 pm IST