Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced the installation of 11,000 hotspots across Delhi as part of the free Wi-Fi scheme promised by the Aam Aadmi Party in its 2015 manifesto.
“Minimum Internet connectivity and data usage have become a requisite for the people in this digital age. Considering the importance of the Internet, the Delhi government has decided to provide free Internet,” the Chief Minister said. Of the 11,000 hotspots, around 4,000 would come up near bus stands and the remaining 7,000 across marketplaces with each constituency to get 100 hotspots each, he said.
“The work order has been passed, the installation is already in progress and the inaugural ceremony of the first 100 hotspots will be held on December 16. The total expenditure on the installation will be around ₹100 crore,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
“The people of Delhi will be able to locate a Wi-Fi connection after every 500 metres, with the hotspot connections supporting a radius of 100 metres. Every user will get free 15 GB data per month, with a data limit of 1.5 GB per day. On an average, the maximum speed of the connection will be 200 Mbps, but the estimated speed will be between 100 and 150 Mbps,” he said.
Each hotspot, Mr. Kejriwal said, would be able to support 150-200 users simultaneously. The Delhi government will pay the rent every month to the company for each hotspot installed, he added.