RFPs for free wi-fi in Delhi colleges to be in public domain soon

NEW DELHI: Reaffirming the commitment to provide free wi-fi in colleges by next year, Ashish Khetan, Vice-Chairman, Delhi Dialogue Commission, Delhi Government, today said that the Request for Proposals (RFPs) for rolling out wi-fi in colleges will be in public domain in the next couple of weeks.

“We are already in the process of rolling out 3,000 hotspots by year-end and after colleges, we plan to cover villages and unauthorized colonies,” he said on the sidelines of the Wireless Broadband Vision Forum here.

Delhi is the first city to join hands with WBA Connected City Advisory Board enabling the vision for Connected Cities.

The Delhi Government is in discussions with private players to take care of backhaul, networking for the wi-fi project. While, Wireless Broadband Alliance, a global strategic alliance with over 100 members, will help Delhi in facilitating the wi-fi project.

He also indicated that there would be the Delhi Government sponsored advertisements during the free wi-fi sessions. There will not be any cap in accessing the Government websites but limited access of other contents will be provided.

The colleges are likely to receive speed of 10 Mbps, which could be raised depending on usage.

Before coming into power, the AAP Government had announced Rs 50 crore for the free wi-fi project in colleges and around 300 villages of Delhi in the first phase.

The government is mulling various revenue models in the project to provide best wi-fi service.