India is now one of the biggest internet markets. Post launch of Reliance Jio, and some of the pocket friendly data rates in the country, it has gained this status. And on Wednesday, the Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced the launch of PM WANI (PM – Wi-Fi Access Network Interfaces), aiming to provide the public Wi-Fi service across the Nation.

Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “There will be no license, fee or registration for it.”

The Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet approved the setting up of this Public Wi – Fi Network with an outline involving multiple players – Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregators, and app providers. It is introduced with the intention of providing a boost for businesses development, and employment opportunities, thereby enhancing disposable incomes in the hands of small, medium sized enterprises, and boosting the GDP of the country.

PDO – Public Data Office will establish, sustain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi – Fi Access Points, and provide broadband services to subscribers. Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) will be an aggregator of the PDOs, and will be executing the functions related to authorization, and accounting. In addition, a mobile application will be launched for registering users, and regulating the WANI – Compliant Wi – Fi hotspots in the vicinity, and displaying those within the application for internet service access.

Furthermore, Centre Registry will be maintaining the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. For beginning, the Central Registry will be maintained by C-DoT or Centre of Development for Telematics, which is a government-owned telecommunications technology development center.

R S Sharma, Former Chairman, TRAI, tweeted, “It will create millions of inter-operable Wi-Fi hotspots in the country and democratize content distribution and broadband access to millions at affordable rates. This will be the UPI of connectivity services.”

The cabinet also approved the installation of submarine optical fibre cable connectivity between the coast of Kochi, and Lakshadweep Island.

It would be on the lines of the one recently added to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Sunil C, Head-Specialized Staffing, TeamLease Digital, said, “You will also need many IT Infra support engineers, app developers, app maintenance engineers and not to forget cyber security professionals as this opens huge cyber risk. This move will lead to huge employment opportunity in IT, IT Infrastructure, and Telecom sectors.”

It is a move predicted to provide smooth business transactions.

The pandemic has imposed the requirement of reliable and high speed broadband internet data services for a whooping number of subscribers in India, inclusive of locations, which do not get 4G mobile coverage.

Moreover, the proliferations of public Wi – Fi will not only generate employment, it will also create a strong set of disposable incomes in the accounts of small and medium entrepreneur and revive the country’s GDP. Propagation of broadband services with the means of public Wi – Fi is a step towards successful digital India and further positive results from then.