AgenciesMillions of data-hungry consumers across India will soon enjoy top download speeds and quality video experience anywhere and at all times with the Union Cabinet backing the sector regulator’s call to boost countrywide broadband penetration through the public WiFi route using unlicensed entities - something like the PCO model of yore.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Trai-recommended aggregator-model paving the way for new categories of public data offices (PDOs), public data office aggregators (PDOAs) and app providers to deliver public WiFi services without a licence. “The Cabinet has cleared the PM-WANI public WiFi project that will unleash a broadband revolution in India and empower the lives of ordinary Indians, much like the PCO model of past decades that drove mass proliferation of basic telephone services,” telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Friday.
A village boy, without access to expensive books, will now be able to download an ebook using public WiFi, the minister said. Pricing of the public WiFi services, though, he said would be left to market forces. The proposed categories of PDOs, he said, won’t need a licence, and also won’t have to pay any entry fee or go through a registration process. The aggregators, who will work closely with the PDOs and app providers, though will be registered within a week of putting in an application.
The Cabinet approval for the public WiFi project came just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the government’s resolve to boost countrywide internet penetration by widening the spread of fixed-line broadband connectivity and public WiFi hotspots. The much belated decision is critical since public WiFi as a mass broadband driver has not taken off even after four years since it became a buzzword of sorts. The current pan-India count of WiFi hotspots is around a paltry 100,000, way behind the targets of 5 million by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 set by National Digital Communications Policy, 2018.
The sector regulator had originally recommended the aggregator-model, involving PDOAs, to deliver public WiFi services nearly four years ago. It had even suggested that such aggregators work with small entrepreneurs, classified as PDOs, who would provide the venues for such mass WiFi deployment.
The public WiFi venture has been hanging fire all these years as broadband service providers and telcos were sharply divided over the utility of the technology. Telcos had said there is no business case for public WiFi, given the low data rates and security concerns. But broadband service providers rejected this, and maintained that with data demand surging, access to back-up public WiFi would nicely complement stretched mobile networks in ensuring a quality, video-grade broadband experience.
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Trai-recommended aggregator-model paving the way for new categories of public data offices (PDOs), public data office aggregators (PDOAs) and app providers to deliver public WiFi services without a licence. “The Cabinet has cleared the PM-WANI public WiFi project that will unleash a broadband revolution in India and empower the lives of ordinary Indians, much like the PCO model of past decades that drove mass proliferation of basic telephone services,” telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Friday.
A village boy, without access to expensive books, will now be able to download an ebook using public WiFi, the minister said. Pricing of the public WiFi services, though, he said would be left to market forces. The proposed categories of PDOs, he said, won’t need a licence, and also won’t have to pay any entry fee or go through a registration process. The aggregators, who will work closely with the PDOs and app providers, though will be registered within a week of putting in an application.
The Cabinet approval for the public WiFi project came just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the government’s resolve to boost countrywide internet penetration by widening the spread of fixed-line broadband connectivity and public WiFi hotspots. The much belated decision is critical since public WiFi as a mass broadband driver has not taken off even after four years since it became a buzzword of sorts. The current pan-India count of WiFi hotspots is around a paltry 100,000, way behind the targets of 5 million by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 set by National Digital Communications Policy, 2018.
The sector regulator had originally recommended the aggregator-model, involving PDOAs, to deliver public WiFi services nearly four years ago. It had even suggested that such aggregators work with small entrepreneurs, classified as PDOs, who would provide the venues for such mass WiFi deployment.
The public WiFi venture has been hanging fire all these years as broadband service providers and telcos were sharply divided over the utility of the technology. Telcos had said there is no business case for public WiFi, given the low data rates and security concerns. But broadband service providers rejected this, and maintained that with data demand surging, access to back-up public WiFi would nicely complement stretched mobile networks in ensuring a quality, video-grade broadband experience.
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