Govt plans new Wi-Fi rules to reduce call drops

India is moving to formalize rules for WiFi offloading, including the use of the 6GHz band for the purpose, to ensure seamless mobile connectivity, according to documents seen by Mint.

- Jatin Grover

Smartphones may automatically redirect data traffic from cellular networks to nearby Wi-Fi networks when available.

(HT)

For users, this would mean smartphones would automatically redirect a portion of data traffic from cellular networks to nearby WiFi networks when available—including hotspots under the PM-WANI (Prime Minister WiFi Access Network Interface) scheme—without interrupting calls, SMS, or applications.

This will help reduce congestion on crowded mobile networks, improve speed in indoor and high-traffic areas, and enable operators to use their limited mobile spectrum more efficiently, often without users noticing any change.

“Telecom operators in India do offload traffic to WiFi in specific scenarios, but the practice has varied widely and lacked a nationally accepted technical framework,” a government official said, on condition of anonymity.