No internet access at home? Try the park or the closest government hospital. With the state’s IT department all set to upgrade its free Wi-Fi service – launched as a pilot in 2014 – residents can soon log onto the virtual space from almost all parts of the city.
At least so it seems from the design of the ambitious ‘Digital Telangana’ initiative that promises to provide free Wi-Fi at 3,000 locations in Hyderabad. Initially, the facility was limited to about a dozen areas.
As a first step towards rolling out the programme, which is scheduled to go ‘live’ by mid-April, the IT department issued a government order on Thursday offering incentives to service providers willing to come on board. Apart from “advertisement subsidy”, the order assures reduced monthly charges to service providers. “Earlier, service providers had to pay Rs 2,000 to get access (to pole, overhead fibre etc). Now the cost has been cut to Rs 500 per month,” said an IT official.
But while the government is upbeat about its hi-tech plan, residents are sceptical considering the poor accessibility at the current Wi-Fi hotspots. “I have tried using it from multiple locations around Necklace Road and near Cyber Towers, but have never been successful. Though I agree it is a great proposition, the authorities should ensure that it is enforced more sincerely this time,” said Promod K, who works with an MNC in the city.
Curators of the project say that the main fault with the pilot was poor awareness among people. “That’s what resulted in limited usage. Residents weren’t aware of where the service was available. We intend to correct it this time by allowing service providers to advertise for free at two points within a certain radius of a WiFi hotspot,” the official said.
At the time of its rollout two years ago, IT minister K T Rama Rao had assured that Hyderabad would be Wi-Fi enabled within a few months. The promise, hopefully, will be realized now, albeit after a long delay.
At least so it seems from the design of the ambitious ‘Digital Telangana’ initiative that promises to provide free Wi-Fi at 3,000 locations in Hyderabad. Initially, the facility was limited to about a dozen areas.
As a first step towards rolling out the programme, which is scheduled to go ‘live’ by mid-April, the IT department issued a government order on Thursday offering incentives to service providers willing to come on board. Apart from “advertisement subsidy”, the order assures reduced monthly charges to service providers. “Earlier, service providers had to pay Rs 2,000 to get access (to pole, overhead fibre etc). Now the cost has been cut to Rs 500 per month,” said an IT official.
But while the government is upbeat about its hi-tech plan, residents are sceptical considering the poor accessibility at the current Wi-Fi hotspots. “I have tried using it from multiple locations around Necklace Road and near Cyber Towers, but have never been successful. Though I agree it is a great proposition, the authorities should ensure that it is enforced more sincerely this time,” said Promod K, who works with an MNC in the city.
Curators of the project say that the main fault with the pilot was poor awareness among people. “That’s what resulted in limited usage. Residents weren’t aware of where the service was available. We intend to correct it this time by allowing service providers to advertise for free at two points within a certain radius of a WiFi hotspot,” the official said.
At the time of its rollout two years ago, IT minister K T Rama Rao had assured that Hyderabad would be Wi-Fi enabled within a few months. The promise, hopefully, will be realized now, albeit after a long delay.
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