Chennai: Talks have been on with private bidders for the past two years over installation of WiFi at all elevated and underground Metro Rail stations of Phase I, but no one is particularly interested in providing these services currently due to limited patronage for the Metro in the city, senior officials said.
“We want to provide WiFi to the users of Metro but discussions are still on and this process will take time,” said a senior Metro Rail official. “Phase I will be completed by mid or end of 2018, by then bidders will come forward as the patronage is likely to increase. As of now, with a patronage of about 20,000 passengers a day, WiFi provision will not be of much use,” the official said.
“We are mulling the use ‘leaky feeder cable’ for underground stations and tunnels to make network available underground,” said a senior Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) official, adding that loss of phone network connectivity is a major problem faced by commuters on underground lines.
Major railway stations and airports have provided free WiFi for half an hour per day, which is a model that could be employed for CMRL too or it may be a paid service, the official said adding that once patronage crosses at least a lakh per day, the model will be decided.
“WiFi for Metro users is a good idea as connectivity should be ensured at public places. Will railway stations and airports providing free WiFi, as a passenger, I would expect Metro to provide similar connectivity,” said S. Aravind, a metro rail user.
While the provision of equipment and facility will be given by CMRL, the installation and maintenance will be done by private parties, which will have to decide the earning of revenue through WiFi provision.
