‘Recommendation on public wifi to be finalised in 25 days’

TERMING THE availability and affordability of broadband as a “prerequisite” for growth of digital transactions, regulator Trai on Monday said it would finalise in 20-25 days its views on ‘public wifi networks’.

Public wifi networks would offer data connectivity at just 10 per cent of the prevailing data rates. “We will give our recommendations in 20-25 days. The issue of wifi proliferation is an important one. The basic objective of Digital India is to encourage digital transactions of all kinds ... it is therefore important for people to have broadband availability and affordability,” Trai Chairman R S Sharma said on sidelines of an open house on ‘Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-fi Networks’.

He said that broadband access needs to be ubiquitous, reliable and robust.

“These characteristics can be delivered through wifi networks and therefore we are trying to think of ways to bring about seamless grid of wifi network,” Sharma said. He said Trai’s consultation paper does not deal with free wifi services, but rather costs that are just 10 per cent of the prevailing costs. “Free wifi would not be sustainable over a long time. The wifi networks we are talking about will not be free but they will be very affordable. Compared to the data costs right now, it will be just 10 per cent,” he said.