The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation note on the deployment of public Wi-Fi hotspots, The authority has asked for views on a model of deployment of the hotspots. It notes that these need to be scalable to offer ubiquitous coverage across cities, towns, and villages besides offering affordable access. Further, they also need to use revalent technology standards for successful interoperability and adoption.
TRAI says that the consultation note is to explore whether the model can be incorporated in public Wi-Fi to promote appropriate monetisation and business models for sustainable and scalable development. It adds that it is also to “explore the roles of different stakeholders in the Public Wi-Fi
network value chain and build an ecosystem for promoting scalable and sustainable partnerships for large scale nation wide deployment.”
The note also talks about the inclusion of local partners for the deployment of public Wi-Fi. This includes the owners of venues like malls and shops as well as ISPs. Payment service providers like banks and mobile wallet providers. Further, individuals and communities can also be a partners.