As we have seen in the previous reports, the Indian government is compiling a list of potential vendors for the Indian telecom giants. The list being prepared will make the vendors eligible for selling 5G spectrum in the Indian market. Now, the Modi led government is trying to increase the public Wi-Fi access points to 2 million by the end of 2021.
The recently launched Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM Wani) initiative will open by the first week of January, kick-starting the government’s drive to make Wi-Fi ubiquitous across public spaces.
“C-DoT, the technology development centre of the DoT, is working to make ‘Wi-Fi access boxes’ widely available at around half the market price and we should open the registration process by the first week of next year.”
Using the service anyone can register as a public data operator aggregator (PDOA) by filling in a one-page form on the central registry portal. If there is no response within seven days of filling the form, the registration is deemed approved.
The PDOA ties-up with small businesses to install Wi-Fi access points and provides hotspots in public spaces and these entrepreneurs become public data operators (PDOs). A PDO could be the owner of a grocery store or Kirana shop and even a pan vendor and doesn’t need a license or registration. However, PDOs will have to buy bandwidth from telcos and internet service providers and resell them to consumers.
“We are facilitating meetings between PM Wani stakeholders and various telcos and ISPs to start this process.
“Any PDOA can take services from the government’s technology development centre. We have done this to reduce the CAPEX for PDOAs. These will also be rated through user experience and you could choose whom to buy bandwidth from and also the amount of time you wish to access, buy a voucher online and start using the service.
“All our efforts are centred on making the PM Wani project live and vibrant very swiftly. All our units including C-DoT and ITI have been roped in for their expertise. The idea is to interact with them and to iron out any issues.”
