Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. plans to set up 40,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country in three years at a cost of Rs. 6,000 crore to provide seamless Internet connectivity.
The plan is part of efforts revive the company, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on the sidelines of the launch of Wi-Fi at Taj Mahal on Tuesday.
Anupam Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, said the tender for the project was likely to be floated by July.
“Initially, we plan to set up the hotspots in PPP [public-private partnership] mode. The investment made by private operators will be in addition to ours,” he said.
The public sector company will set up another 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots in 250 tourist and religious locations at a cost of Rs. 500 crore by next March. These include the Jaganath temple in Puri, Nasik (where Khumb Mela is held), Khajuraho, Fatehpur Sikri and Hampi.
At Taj Mahal, the company’s Wi-Fi service will be free for 30 minutes during a 24-hour block three times a month, which visitors can utilise in multiple sessions. After the free usage, a subscriber can continue using the service by opting for subscription plans of Rs. 20 to Rs. 70 valid from 30 minutes to a day.
