Free WiFi in Delhi from December 16, announces CM Arvind Kejriwal 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that the national capital will get free WiFi from December 16, thereby fulfilling the AAP-led government’s last poll promise. Delhi goes to polls early next year. The Delhi government had approved the free WiFi proposal in August and will start the first phase of deployment of said service from December 16. 

The free WiFi service will begin in the national capital from December 16 with the Delhi government kicking things off by installing 100 hotspots. Thereon, the government plans to install 500 hotspots every week, eventually leading into a set target of 11,000 hotspots in six months. The public-private partnership (PPP) project will entail in an investment of around Rs 100 crore with the Delhi government paying charges to the partnering companies per hotspot on per month basis.  

Delhi to get free WiFi: More details

Once deployed, people in Delhi will be able to use free WiFi with speeds ranging from 50Mbps per hotspot (as per cabinet note) to 100Mbps (as per preliminary estimate) with a data limit of 15GB per month (1.5GB a day) per user. Hotspots will be available across bus stands (4,000), markets and RWAs (7,000) with every hotspot being able to support 150-200 concurrent users. 

The service, as is usally the case with such things, will be accessible via an app that users will need to sign into after completing a KYC process. Once signed in, users will be able to move between multiple hotspot zones connecting to free WiFi automatically. 

The AAP-led Delhi Government has been floating the idea of free WiFi as one of its flagship projects for a very long time now. The project, that has been the talk of the town since at least the 2015-16 budget, has been a long time coming, after having missed multiple deadlines. It’s a ‘major’ step in making Delhi a more technologically advanced city, according to the Delhi government, but whether it would be as seamlessly implemented is something only time will tell. The same is true about the monetary aspect. We don’t know if the Delhi government will also be looking to monetize it through plans that would offer faster speeds/more data to those willing to buy into it.     

Also Read:  Delhi CM Kejriwal Plays Final Pre-poll Card; Gambhir Calls Wi-Fi Freebie "a Big Lie"