BENGALURU: A 2.74-km stretch of
Nagarbhavi Main Road in southwest Bengaluru has become a free Wi-Fi hotspot, thanks to a private initiative.
Free browsing will be allowed for each user up to 20 minutes daily, on the stretch between Vijayanagar telephone exchange and Shobha Hospital.
In all, 23 poles have been erected along the road to create the Wi-Fi hotspot with 125mbps speed. The hotspot is already working but will be formally launched soon.
The road was paved with potholes and its pavements were unusable only seven months ago.
Umesh Shetty, corporator representing Govindarajanagar (ward 104), said they spent close to Rs 1.6crore to develop each kilometre of the road.
Shetty said
Reliance Jio Infocomm obliged his request to facilitate the free hotspot, after he emailed Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani. “While appreciating the initiative, saying it was in line with the Centre’s Digital India, Ambani readily agreed to provide free a Wi-Fi hotspot and bear the entire cost of the project,” said Shetty.
A Reliance Jio official said the company had spent around Rs 2.25crore and paid the BBMP Rs 8 lakh as charges for laying cables and erecting poles.
Representative image
