The Malappuram municipality has become the first civic body in the country to offer free Wi-Fi connectivity to people living or working there. The free Internet connectivity brought yet another laurel for Malappuram in successive years after it became the first ISO certified municipality in the country.
Minister for Industries and IT P.K. Kunhalikutty appeared excited to access his Facebook page on his smartphone when he inaugurated the Wi-Fi scheme at a function held here on Friday. “It’s exciting indeed. It’s a creditable achievement for a municipal body,” he said patting municipal chairman K.P. Mustafa.
People in Malappuram can have free Wi-Fi Internet access now. They will have to register their mobile number with an identity proof at the municipal office. As many as 8,000 people registered for the service in a couple of days.
“We have given passwords to nearly 3,000 people so far. We hope to cover all applicants by Monday or Tuesday,” said Mr. Mustafa, who considers free Internet service as one of the countable achievements of the council. “Access to Internet has almost become unstoppable today,” he said.
When the municipality bore two-thirds cost of the Rs. 1.45 crore, the State IT Department offered the remaining one-third.
Although the municipality intends to cover its 33 sq km area with free Wi-Fi, the regional topography would permit coverage along the 21 km roads within the municipal limits.
“We are trying the best we can to reach out to the 68,000 people in the municipality,” said Mr. Mustafa.
Over a dozen high-power antennas have been erected in the municipality to ensure Wi-Fi connectivity in partnership with RailTel Corporation of India.
Although the municipality offers 250 mbps speed, users on the first two days said they got fairly good speed. “The speed I got was nothing exciting. But the service is,” said K. Mohammed, a businessman here.
The authorities will, however, impose some restrictions on certain websites. Although it will be totally free, the municipality will monitor the usage.
The municipality will link the Wi-Fi project with schools by offering free education software, which will cover the syllabuses of the State and CBSE streams.
Malappuram municipality becomes the first civic body in the country to offer free Wi-Fi connectivity to people.
