TRAI's digital push: Recommendation on public wifi in 25 days

Terming the availability and affordability of broadband as a "prerequisite" for growth of digital transactions, regulator TRAI today said it will finalise in 20-25 days its views on 'public wifi networks.'

Public wifi networks would offer data connectivity at just 10 % of the prevailing data rates.

"We will give our recommendations in 20-25 days. The issue of wifi proliferation is an important one. The basic objective of Digital India is to encourage digital transactions of all kinds ... It is therefore important for people to have broadband availability and affordability," TRAI Chairman R S Sharma said on sidelines of an open house on 'Proliferation of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks'.

He said that broadband access needs to be ubiquitous, reliable and robust.

"These characteristics can be delivered through wifi networks and therefore we are trying to think of ways to bring about seamless grid of wifi network," Sharma said.

He said TRAI's consultation paper does not deal with free wifi services, but rather costs that are just 10 % of the prevailing costs.

"Free wifi would not be sustainable over a long time. The wifi networks we are talking about will not be free but they will be very affordable. Compared to the data costs right now, it will be just 10 %...So, people will be able to take advantage of that," he said.

In its consultation paper floated in July last year, TRAI had said that it is estimated that cost per MB in Wi-Fi Network could be less than 2 paise per MB while consumers on an average are paying around 23 paise per MB for the data usage in the cellular network like 2G, 3G and 4G.

The broadband crunch with regard to wired infrastructure will also be addressed through proliferation of community wifi hotspots.

"It is not just in tune with the wave of digitisation but also a requirement and a necessity, as our country moves forward in the digital connectivity. It is an absolute pre-requisite for Digital India," he said.

When asked by when will the public wifi hotspots become a reality in India, Sharma said the regulator's mandate is to provide recommendations and framework.

"Implementation is not our mandate. So, we will create such conditions or try to give recommendations that will ensure that these proliferate," he added.

Digital payment channels have seen massive uptake and rise in transactions after demonetisation was announced on November 8.

According to the government data, UPI transactions -- which allow users to transfer funds from one bank account to another using a smartphone -- grew 1,342 %, from 3,721 such transactions a day on

November 8 to 53,648 on December 25. In value terms, it grew 647 %, from Rs 1.93 crore a day to Rs 14 crore, during the same period.

On December 30 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an indigenous digital payments app BHIM for fast and secure cashless transactions using mobiles. BHIM is a payment platform designed to make UPI and USSD payment modes simpler and usable across feature phones and smartphones.