Bengaluru to get 5,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots by Republic Day, 2018

As per the plan, citizens will get to use free wi-fi for first 30 minutes, after which they will have to pay commercial rates, as fixed by TRAI

By: News Desk |
December 15, 2017 11:45 am

After joining the elite league of ‘giga-enabled cities’ in the world, Bengaluru is gearing up for another upgrade that will change the way its residents connect to the Internet. Karnataka government will unveil public Wi-Fi hotspots in the city, by Republic Day, 2018. It will gradually expand the service to 11 municipal corporations over the next two months.

According to a report, Bengaluru will get nearly 5,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots before the Assembly elections, which are scheduled to take place in May, 2018. As per the plan, citizens will get to use free Wi-Fi for first 30 minutes, after which they will have to pay commercial rates, as fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Four companies – ACT Fibernet, Indus Towers, D-VoiS Communications and Honeycomb – have expressed their interest in the plan. While ACT Fibernet has offered to set up 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Bengaluru and Mysuru, Indus Towers has offered to set up 140 smart poles in the city. On the other hand, D-VoiS Communications and Honeycomb have offered to install 2,555 Wi-Fi hotspots each in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Kalaburagi.

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Bengaluru joins the Internet super league
Bengaluru recently joined the likes of Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore which have a broadband speed of one gbps. The service was launched by Bengaluru-based Internet Service Provider (ISP) ACT Fibernet, and inaugurated by the state’s Information Technology (IT) Minister, Priyank Kharge.

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“It was great to make history with @ACTFibernet. Launched the 1 GBPS broadband connectivity for #NammaBengaluru. This makes us one of the few Giga-enabled cities in the world. Brace up for greater speeds!” he tweeted.

It was great to make history with @ACTFibernet. Launched the 1 GBPS broadband connectivity for #NammaBengaluru. This makes us one of the few Giga enabled cities in the world. Brace up for greater speeds! pic.twitter.com/UUgWyRAVx3

— Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) December 13, 2017

It was overwhelming to witness the speed of 1 GBPS at @ACTFibernet experience zone. Considering that we would be thrilled just to be connected to VSNL TCP/IP, we have come a very very long way. pic.twitter.com/3gEfCddTlR

— Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) December 13, 2017