Hyderabad has more than 3,500 public WiFi hotspots that provide users free Internet access for 45 minutes daily at 25 Mbps speed and up to one GB data limit.
On Wednesday (4 August), the Telangana State government commemorated the functioning of 3,500-plus WiFi hotspots, covering buzzing places, including 400 government schools and a few basti dawakhanas.
Under the Digital Telangana initiative, the state government set up these WiFi hotspots in collaboration with ACT Fibernet as part of the Hy-Fi project. Around 500 to 1,000 more such hotspots would be added soon, reports Telangana Today.
“We are living in a world of 4G and these WiFi hotspots will help to bridge the digital divide. While the public will definitely benefit, institutions like government schools, Basti Dawakhanas and Urban Public Health Centres can use this service. PHCs can look at e-health and telemedicine more robustly through these hotspots,” said IT Minister KT Rama Rao.
“While the pilot project was for 1,000 hotspots, we realised that it can be expanded to 3,000-plus locations. Pre-pandemic we had four lakh citizen users per month and during the pandemic, it dropped to one lakh but currently, we are seeing 3 lakh users,” said Bala Malladi, CEO, ACT.
He added that among the 57 metro stations in the city, the hotspots are available in 47 stations. Hyderabad Metro Rail MD NVS Reddy plans to expand the facility to all stations soon and is considering offering WiFi in Metro trains.
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.