Airtel Launches 'Public Wi-Fi' Service in 17 Locations in Hyderabad

Bharti Airtel and Telangana government on Friday launched
'Public Wi-Fi' at 17 locations in Hyderabad where users of
smartphone, tablets and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices can
connect to Internet.
Venkatesh Vijayraghavan, CEO, Bharti Airtel - Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana - said here that people in the 17
locations can avail public Wi-Fi and enjoy Internet services
of up to 750MB per day per user.
Information Technology Minister, Telangana, K T Rama Rao
said that currently the government is trying to rope in other
service providers to engage them in offering similar
services.
"This is just a beginning. We will come to a position where
the entire city (Hyderabad) will be Wi-Fi enabled in about
four months. Tendering process is going on. The entire 700
square kilometres of Hyderabad city will be covered under
Wi-Fi soon," the Telangana minister said in a press
conference in Hyderabad.
Vijayraghavan said that optic fibre technology has been
used for the public Wi-Fi service. Though the speed of
Internet will be 40Mbps, the same will depend on number of
users utilising the service per location at once, he said.
Airtel is in the process of working out tariff for the services
and other modalities, the CEO added.
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Network )
This initiative is a part of the government's broader agenda
of allowing citizens to experience a host of web
opportunities making Hyderabad a leading digital city, Rao
said.
On an average, around 40,000 commuters, commercial
establishments and visitors can benefit from the service.
Enabling public access to superior Wi-Fi technology across
the city is at the heart of Telangana government's efforts to
promote greater digital inclusion for the citizens, therefore
making Hyderabad a 'Global Smart City', the minister said.
Users with any valid Indian mobile number can easily
access the public Wi-Fi at all the 17 locations by switching
'Wi-Fi' on, on their devices. On selecting the public Wi-Fi, a
One-Time password (OTP) will be sent to their mobile
number.
They can then connect the Wi-Fi post authentication of the
password and enjoy Internet services, Vijayraghavan added