Lok Sabha Question No. 482 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-03
Subject: Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) Scheme
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Damodar Agrawal, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Shri Arun Govil, Smt. Anita Nagarsingh Chouhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 482 ANSWERED ON 3 RD  DECEMBER, 2025

## WI-FI ACCESS NETWORK INTERFACE (PM-WANI) SCHEME

## †482.   SHRI DAMODAR AGRAWAL:

SHRI ARUN GOVIL:

SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA: SMT. ANITA NAGARSINGH CHOUHAN:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the Prime Minister's Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme being run by the Government;
- (b) the total number of companies providing Wi-Fi services under the said 'PM-WANI' scheme at present;
- (c) the details of provisions made by the Government for providing internet services to these companies for providing Wi-Fi services in rural areas under the said scheme;
- (d) whether the Government is providing software and hardware technology as well to these companies and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) Government  approved  the  PM-WANI  Scheme  on  9th  December  2020  to  accelerate  the proliferation  of  Broadband  services  through  Public Wi-Fi  networks  across  the  country. The  PMWANI  framework,  in  line  with  the  objectives  of  the  National  Digital  Communications  Policy (NDCP) 2018, aims to create a robust digital communications infrastructure. The framework allows Public Data Offices (PDOs) to set up Wi-Fi hotspots, under the aggregation of Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs), with minimal regulatory oversight, thus encouraging local entrepreneurs to participate in the digital transformation process. As on 26.11.2025, state wise total count of PMWANI W-Fi hotspots is enclosed as Annexure-I .

(b) Under PMWANI scheme, the Wi-Fi services to the customer is delivered by Public Data Offices (PDOs) who are the agents of PDOAs (Public Data Office Aggregators). As on 26.11.2025, the total number of PDOs (Wi-Fi Hotspots) currently on-board are 3,91,599.

(c) Dept of Telecommunications introduced following key reforms on 16.09.2024 in the existing PM Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) framework to address the pressing issues relating to the proliferation of Public Wi-Fi Access Points through PMWANI:

-  PDOs (Public Data Offices) were allowed  to offer PM WANI through a regular FTTH connection which will reduce their cost.
-  PDOs  were  allowed  to  aggregate  their  multiple  Access  point  to  a  single  backhaul towards the Internet Service Providers to create wider Wi-Fi hotspot.
-  Existing home or business Wi-Fi Access Points were allowed to join the larger PMWANI network, thereby utilizing their existing Access point as a source of revenue.
-  Roaming was allowed between PDOAs enabling end users to switch between PMWANI Wi-Fi hotspots of different PDOAs smoothly.
-  PDOs were allowed to offer Mobile data offload by teaming up with existing Telecom Service Providers.
-  PDOAs and App providers were allowed to send content, promotions, and branding messages to potential PM-WANI Wi-Fi users, after due user consent.

Further,  TRAI  released  a  Telecommunication  Tariff  (71 st Amendment)  Order,  2025  on 16.06.2025 related to tariff for  retail  broadband  connectivity  for  Public  Data  Offices. This  order mandates  that all  retail  FTTH  broadband  plans  up  to  200 Mbps must  be  offered  to Public  Data Offices (PDOs) at tariffs not exceeding twice the corresponding consumer broadband price.

(d) & (e) Under  PMWANI  scheme,  hardware  &  software  is  to  be  procured  by  PMWANI stakeholders (PDOs, PDOAs and App providers). The solution developed by the stakeholders has to be PMWANI compliant which in turn is certified by CDOT in accordance to PMWANI guidelines.

## Annexure-I

| S.No   | State             |   No. of WI-FI Hotspots |
|--------|-------------------|-------------------------|
| 1      | Andaman &Nicobar  |                     275 |
| 2      | Andhra Pradesh    |                    6074 |
| 3      | Arunachal Pradesh |                    1017 |
| 4      | Assam             |                    1063 |
| 5      | Bihar             |                    4086 |
| 6      | Chandigarh        |                     253 |
| 7      | Chhattisgarh      |                    2839 |
| 8      | Delhi             |                  198275 |
| 9      | Goa               |                     430 |
| 10     | Gujarat           |                   11857 |
| 11     | Himachal Pradesh  |                     936 |
| 12     | Haryana           |                   18131 |
| 13     | Jharkhand         |                    1042 |
| 14     | Jammu &Kashmir    |                    2299 |
| 15     | Karnataka         |                   21834 |
| 16     | Kerala            |                    4987 |
| 17     | Ladakh            |                     601 |
| 18     | Lakshadweep       |                       1 |
| 19     | Maharashtra       |                   33084 |
| 20     | Meghalaya         |                     256 |
| 21     | Manipur           |                      21 |
| 22     | Madhya Pradesh    |                    7592 |
| 23     | Mizoram           |                       3 |
| 24     | Nagaland          |                      78 |
| 25     | Odisha            |                    3040 |
| 26     | Punjab            |                    3713 |
| 27     | Puducherry        |                      89 |
| 28     | Rajasthan         |                    2891 |
| 29     | Sikkim            |                      13 |
| 30     | Telangana         |                    4284 |
| 31     | Tamil Nadu        |                    7501 |
| 32     | Tripura           |                     310 |
| 33     | Uttarakhand       |                     980 |
| 34     | Uttar Pradesh     |                   47549 |
| 35     | West Bengal       |                    4195 |
|        | Total             |                  391599 |

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