Karnataka govt to set up 5,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots in Bengaluru

In a major push to provide Internet connectivity and better delivery of services to people in Bengaluru, the State government is planning to provide public Wi-Fi hotspots in at least 5,000 locations across the city. Once achieved, India’s Silicon City will have the highest penetration of public Wi-Fi hotspots among the cities in the country.

On Sunday, IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge met Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who holds Bengaluru Development portfolio, to discuss modalities of its implementation. The free Wi-Fi for the public will also be extended to other corporations across the State.

“We have already identified 3,000 hotspots in the city, which will be scaled to beyond 5,000 hotspots. We are yet to start negotiating with the telecom players and wireless broadband service providers,” Mr. Kharge told The Hindu. He said that though during his previous tenure negotiations had been held and an offer of help had been received from the telecom providers, the previous government unfortunately did not follow it up.

He said: “The BBMP had also not cooperated with the government as installation of towers at certain places was required. I met Mr. Shivakumar to discuss issues around the public Wi-Fi issue.” After Bengaluru, the government intends to extend the public Wi-Fi to other corporations in the State, he added. The Hindu