Public wifi ambitions falter as telcos resist lower tariffs

Public wifi hotspots seemed like a good idea five years ago when the government rolled out a scheme to provide affordable internet nationwide through a network of neighbourhood data providers.

- Jatin Grover

Public wifi hotspots seemed like a good idea five years ago when the government rolled out a scheme to provide affordable internet nationwide through a network of neighbourhood data providers. High-speed 5G network services hadn't been rolled out yet, and wifi was still the most reliable way to access the internet.

However, the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-Wani) scheme has been struggling to take off as key stakeholders argue over the tariffs.

The government has now proposed that telecom operators offer bandwidth at low rates to neighbourhood stores and other retailers deploying wifi hotspots under the PM-Wani scheme, but the telcos see these so-called public data offices, or PDOs, as competition.

"They are buying the service (bandwidth) for reselling. Why should any operator be forced to provide its network services to its competitors at the arbitrarily regulated prices for building their network," Ravi Gandhi, president and chief regulatory officer of Reliance Jio, told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) during a recent discussion. Mint was present at the discussion.