Lok Sabha Question No. 2950 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-16
Subject: Wi-Fi Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: VISHNU DAYAL RAM, KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH, GOPALAKRISHNAN CHINNARAJ, SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNPURIA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2950

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 th  DECEMBER, 2015

## WI-FI SERVICES

## †2950. SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH:

DR. C. GOPALAKRISHNAN:

## SHRI SUKHBIR SINGH JAUNAPURIA:

Will  the  Minister  of  COMMUNICATIONS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  target  of  providing  free  Wi-Fi  services  to  25  cities  has  been achieved;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor, city-wise along with the fund allocated for the purpose;
- (c) whether the Government plans to extend the facility to other cities, Government educational  institutions,  tourist  locations  and  also  in  rural  areas  and  if  so,  the  details thereof and the timeline for the same;
- (d) whether the BSNL has signed an agreement with Airport Authority of India for providing Wi-Fi facilities in all the airports;
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the airports provided with such facilities so far; and
- (f) whether the Government also proposes to provide Balloon powered broadband facilities in some parts of the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) & (b) As  per  the  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  signed  between Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for 2015-16, BSNL was to provide 263 Wi-Fi Hotspots in 26 cities.  BSNL has reported that target has been achieved in the Month of August, 2015. City-wise details of wi-fi services being provided by BSNL as on date are at Annexure-I.

BSNL is providing free Wi-Fi services for first 15 minutes in a month for the same mobile number. After free usage a customer can use the Wi-Fi service on paid basis. BSNL is  setting  up  Wi-Fi  Hotspots  on  PAN  India  basis  (except  Delhi  &  Mumbai)  on revenue share basis. The selected vendor is setting up Wi-Fi hotspots and BSNL is only providing backhaul bandwidth connectivity.

- (c) BSNL has reported that it is providing Wi-Fi facility in the villages where Hon'ble Members of Parliaments are supporting Wi-Fi facility provisioning through their MPLAD funds.  BSNL is  also  providing Wi-Fi  services  at  the  selected  locations/Sites  including educational  institutions,  tourist  locations,  monuments  etc,  which  are  financially  viable and technically feasible.
- Wi-fi services have already commenced at Taj Mahal (Agra), Sarnath, Assi Ghat (Varanasi), Jagannath Temple (Puri), Konark Temple, Khajuraho, Thanjavur, Brihadeeswara,  Trimbakeshwar  Temple  (Nasik)  Hussain  Sagar  Lake,  Charminar (Hyderabad) through BSNL.
- (d) & (e) No. However, Google India has approached Department of Electronics & Information Technology (Deity) to conduct pilot test of Project Loon in India.

## City-wise details of Wi-Fi Hotspots provided by BSNL

| S.No   | Name of Circle           | City             |   Total Wi-Fi Hotspots Provided |
|--------|--------------------------|------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1      | Andhra Pradesh           | Ananthpur        |                              10 |
| 2      | Andhra Pradesh           | Chittoor         |                               5 |
| 3      | Andhra Pradesh           | East Godavari    |                              21 |
| 4      | Andhra Pradesh           | Guntur           |                              12 |
| 5      | Andhra Pradesh           | Hyderabad        |                              59 |
| 6      | Andhra Pradesh           | Kadapa           |                               4 |
| 7      | Andhra Pradesh           | Krishna          |                              17 |
| 8      | Andhra Pradesh           | Kurnool          |                              10 |
| 9      | Andhra Pradesh           | Vishakapatnam    |                              19 |
| 10     | Andhra Pradesh           | West Godavari    |                               9 |
| 11     | Chhattisgarh             | Raipur           |                               8 |
| 12     | Chhattisgarh             | Bilaspur         |                               2 |
| 13     | Gujarat                  | Valsad           |                               1 |
| 14     | Karnataka                | Bangalore        |                               6 |
| 15     | Karnataka                | Dakshina Kannada |                               2 |
| 16     | Kerala                   | Ernakulam        |                              18 |
| 17     | Kerala                   | Kozhikode        |                               7 |
| 18     | Madhya Pradesh           | Bhopal           |                               4 |
| 19     | Madhya Pradesh           | Chhatarpur       |                               1 |
| 20     | Madhya Pradesh           | Indore           |                               1 |
| 21     | Maharashtra              | Nagpur           |                               4 |
| 22     | Maharashtra              | Nasik            |                              21 |
| 23     | Odisha                   | Puri             |                              13 |
| 24     | Chennai Telecom District | Mahabalipuram    |                               2 |
| 25     | Tamilnadu                | Nilgiris         |                               2 |
| 26     | Tamilnadu                | Pondicherry      |                               8 |
| 27     | Tamilnadu                | Thanjavur        |                               3 |
| 28     | Uttar Pradesh (East)     | Varanasi         |                              10 |
| 29     | Uttar Pradesh (East)     | Sarnath          |                               4 |
| 30     | Uttar Pradesh (West)     | Agra             |                               5 |
| Total  | Total                    | Total            |                             288 |

## Contd………3/-

Annexure-I

Annexure-II

List of Airport With Wi-Fi Hotspot Services

| Circle         | Name of Airport                  |
|----------------|----------------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh | Rajahmundary Airport             |
| Andhra Pradesh | Vijayawada Airport ,             |
| Andhra Pradesh | Tirupathi Airport                |
| Karnataka      | Bajpe Airport Mangalore          |
| Maharashtra    | Aurangabad Airport               |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal Airport                   |
| Madhya Pradesh | Khajuraho Airport (New Terminal) |
| Tamilnadu      | Madurai Airport                  |
| Tamilnadu      | Coimbatore Airport               |

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