Bengaluru to have 5000 Wi-Fi hotspots by December

The government is expected to shortly begin communicating with broadband and telecom service providers.

By December 2023, the Karnataka government hopes to have 5000 free Wi-Fi hotspots operating in Bengaluru. Priyank Kharge, the IT BT Minister, and DK Shivakumar, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, reportedly declared that Bengaluru is likely to get free public Wi-Fi zones by December. According to Kharge, the government will shortly begin communicating with broadband and telecom service providers.

This strategy is not brand-new. It was originally discussed in 2019. At that time, the government intended to provide free internet access through Wi-Fi hotspots for the first 30 or 60 minutes, after which customers would be charged to use the service again. The plan was expected to cost roughly Rs 100 crore, and ACT Fibernet was going to cover the entire cost.

In order to support the effort to create a society that is digitally inclusive, ACT Fibernet has been providing free internet access to everyone in major Indian cities. The internet provider erected around 4000 Wi-Fi hotspots across Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad in 2021 alone, using more over 2500 TB of data.

In Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad, the corporation set up more than 4300 Wi-Fi hotspots. Hospitals, bus stops, shopping centres, public libraries, parks, and schools all have these hotspots, which are powered by ACT SmartFiber technology. The hotspots recorded a total of over 1.4 million unique users in 2021 alone, who used an average of 1.8 GB of data apiece. This success was evident to ACT Fibernet.

For Indian residents, having access to the internet has become a fundamental right. Despite the fact that many people have access to affordable data packages that allow for internet use, many people nevertheless struggle to make ends meet. Those who can afford it also don't get universal, smooth network connectivity. Free public Wi-Fi hotspots are the only solution that can remedy this problem. Whether using mobile data or Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi hotspots can guarantee that users are always connected to the internet.