India seems to be undergoing an Internet revolution of sorts, and everything from the Delhi elections, the cricket World Cup and the AIB roast has sent the online community into frenzy.
In the midst of all this Mark Zuckerburg introduced free Internet (or rather, free parts of the Internet), in India for the benefit of those who cannot afford high data rates, and now city administrations have started a race to make popular public spaces Wi-Fi enabled.
After Bengaluru took an early lead, Hyderabad started work on a similar project, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced plans to make Kolkata fully connected by the end of April. In the midst of all this, Kochi has quietly rolled out plans of its own, with 10 Wi-Fi hotspots set to be operational in the city by April.
The facility is being provided by the Kochi Corporation in association with BSNL, and hotspots will be set up at Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Marine Drive, High Court, Subhash Park, Corporation main office, Jos Junction, Vytilla Mobility Hub, Edappally Junction and Kaloor. The facility will be available for free for 15 minutes to each user every day, beyond which they will be charged. The tariff for paid usage is expected to be competitive, but is yet to be finalised.
Mayor Tony Chammany explains that the Corporation will provide the basic infrastructure required for the project, while BSNL is responsible for the bandwidth. “Today, Kochi is a commercial hub, and its public spends a lot of time in these spots. With changing times, and a more cosmopolitan culture evolving, we wanted to provide people with more opportunities. This facility can assist people in improving knowledge, aid their business, and even provide entertainment. We are planning to make the use of our hotspots 30 per cent cheaper than conventional mobile data charges to get more people interested,” he says.
The 10 hotspots, which will be set up with the help of QuadGen Wireless Solutions (who provide hardware, software and peripherals), will be located in public areas and will not feature dedicated browsing centres. “Each hotspot will have a range of about 300 metres and available bandwidth of 10Mbps. With so many cities now taking the initiative to introduce public Wi-Fi, the Corporation decided it was high time Kochi did the same and that is how this project came to be,” said a BSNL source.
Raghavendra, business development manager at QuadGen, says that his company has been involved in similar projects in multiple locations, but Kochi can be considered the first city where Wi-Fi will be available in public spaces across the entire city.
“With so many visitors, both from India and abroad, this is one of the cities where a project like this makes a difference. As far as technicalities are concerned, we are planning to offer free usage for a fixed time every day, beyond which users will be asked to login and authenticate themselves. Users can opt to take hourly or monthly packs, so someone waiting for a bus can pay to use the service for an hour or two, while shops and businesses in the hotspot’s radius can opt for monthly packages,” he explains, adding that the components used will be ‘carrier class’ hardware, ensuring reliable coverage.
Nimesh Jhawar, who works as an assistant service manager at a motorcycle showroom, and has been a resident of Kochi for a year, is cautiously optimistic about the project. “Personally, I tend to rely on my mobile data connection when I am out, but that said, if I travel by public transport and frequent these areas I would definitely give the service a try. I believe the key is informing people the facility is available, as many of us tend to turn off Wi-Fi when we are outdoors. Also, public networks, while convenient, are not as safe as a private home Wi-Fi connection, and can pose risks. As long as all these issues are known and addressed, this is a very positive development that people will appreciate.”
Kochi seems determined to catch up with other Indian cities on the development front and the promise of fast, reliable public Internet access may be yet another feather in its cap when it emerges from its current developmental cocoon.
In the meantime, if you happen to be walking down the street and see a bunch of people huddled nearby with heads down and smartphones out, turn on your Wi-Fi, you just found a hotspot.
