BENGALURU: In an effort to reduce traffic overload while deepening availability of broadband, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to produce a consultation paper on ways to promote Wi-Fi in public places with easy payment options. It comes at the precise time when major telecom providers of the country like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and relatively new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm are in fierce competition to set up the same, reports The Economic Times. To disperse data traffic and ease pressure on their networks, Airtel and Vodafone has launched Wi-Fi hot spots, a move which could also be replicated by Jio later this year.

Firefly Networks is a joint venture by Airtel and Vodafone which aims to implement Wi-Fi networks in public places. Jio in parallel has deployed 4G powered public Wi-Fi in parts of Kolkata, Varanasi and Gujarat. Their service is also extended to stadiums during sports events.

Wi-Fi is delivered through unlicensed free airwaves and telecom providers have begun to see the other side of the coin where in public Wi-Fi networks could add to data capacity negating the need to bid for expensive spectrum allocation. Interestingly tech giant Google has also made a disruptive entrance to the telecommunication space with its ‘Project-Fi’ that unifies Wi-Fi networks and multiple telecom providers. Though only implemented in US, Google is well on its way to market the tech globally. Wi-Fi networks no more perceived as the threat they used to be. According to industry estimates, the spiraling demand for data would ramp up the number of commercial Wi-Fi hotspots to two mn in a couple of years from the present 30k.

"We will soon float the consultation which will try to find ways in which both the user of public Wi-Fi and providers are able to benefit," said RS Sharma, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The paper would put forward certain payment gateway procedures that could ease access and usage of public Wi-Fi. "Once a user logs into a public Wi-Fi, the provider should make it clear that this is the per-megabyte payment charge or the price for using the Wi-Fi for a time period, say half an hour, at the end of which the provider should also inform the user the charge for usage," he added. Enabling Wi-Fi in public places is yet to take off in India for it has been held back owing to complications in user authentication and monetization.                 

A 2014 report by the Wireless Broadband Alliance cites offloading of traffic from cellular networks as one of the chief reasons for mobile service providers to provide public Wi-Fi. The western model, where the owner of the Wi-Fi outlet would be charged based on usage is apparently not feasible in emerging markets like India, where challenges concerning equipment deployment and safety are yet to be addressed in addition to the technical hurdles associated with its monetization. The consultation process hopes to rope in local entrepreneurs. "We need local entrepreneurs to come and establish Wi-Fi in public places because that, in my view, will tremendously increase the availability of broadband to people without much strain on the spectrum networks in the country," Sharma said. It would also supplement for the limited spectrum available in the country.

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