MANGALURU: With 470 villages lacking mobile connectivity, Karnataka has found its place among states with a significant number of telecom “black spots”, revealed data shared by the Department of Telecommunications in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
As of January 31, 2026, India has 8,985 villages that do not have mobile networks. Karnataka, which tops South India in terms of such villages, follows Odisha (1,237), Arunachal Pradesh (1,185), Madhya Pradesh (960) and Maharashtra (872).
Other southern states reported far fewer coverage gaps – Andhra Pradesh with 394 villages, Telangana with 228 and Tamil Nadu with only three. Kerala has no uncovered villages. Within Karnataka, the largest connectivity gaps are concentrated in forested and hilly regions. Uttara Kannada accounts for the highest number with 189 uncovered villages, followed by Shivamogga (75), Chikkamagaluru (40), Chamarajanagar (25), Belagavi (19) and Kalaburagi(18).
The Centre said it is implementing the BharatNet project to provide broadband connectivity in villages, alongside a 4G saturation initiative under which 23,994 mobile towers have been commissioned across the country so far, sources said.