India / Union Cabinet decides to launch PM-WANI for public WiFi service

New Delhi: In a bid to provide public Wi-Fi service, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to launch a PM- Wi-Fi Access Network Interface to unleash a massive WIFI network in India. With this, public data centres will be opened across the country, says Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

"There will be no licence, fee or registration for it," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The Public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be known as PM-WANI, Information Technology (IT) Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced.

The Union Minister also said that the proposal will promote growth of public Wi-Fi networks in the country.

Prasad also said that businesses can take services from Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio or any such internet service provider (ISP) and use their physical location to provide Wi-Fi to anyone who happens to be nearby.

In an official release, it said, "The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval forthe proposal of DoT for setting up of Public Wi-Fi Networks by Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) to provide public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices (PDOs) spread across length and breadth of the country to accelerate proliferation of Broadband Internet services through Public Wi-Fi network in the country."

The proliferation of public Wi-Fi will not only create employment but also enhance disposable incomes in the hands of small and medium entrepreneurs and boost the GDP of the country, the statement added.

Features:

The public Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be known as PM-WANI. PM-WANI eco-system will be operated by different players as described herein under

Public Data Office (PDO): It will establish, maintain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers.

Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): It will be an aggregator of PDOs and perform the functions relating to Authorization and Accounting.

App Provider: It will develop an App to register users and discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in the nearby area and display the same within the App for accessing the internet service.

Central Registry: It will maintain the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. To begin with, the Central Registry will be maintained by C-DoT.

The Union Cabinet has also approved the provision of submarine optical fibre cable connectivity between the mainland (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands.

"The Cabinet has approved laying of an undersea optical fibre cable to 11 Lakshadweep Islands to provide high-speed broadband internet connectivity," said Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.

This would be on the lines of the one recently laid to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Javadekar also said that the cabinet has also approved setting up of 1 crore data centres.

The Cabinet has approved Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana at an expenditure of ₹1,584 crore for the current financial year and ₹22,810 crore for the entire Scheme period, which is from 2020 to 2023. This Scheme will benefit around 58.5 lakh employees.