THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 2,000 public wi-fi hotspots offering at least 300 MB free Internet and unlimited access to e-governance services and applications will be set up in the state soon. The Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) has floated tenders for the project and it is proposed to be commissioned in two phases, first within three to four months of awarding the work and the second within seven months. In order to ensure faster implementation of the free wi-fi project, it would be developed as three regions. Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Alappuzha are in region one, Idukki, Kochi, Trissur and Palakkad in region two and Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargod in region three. Separate tenders were floated for each region.
The hotspots for setting up public wi-fi in each district have been suggested by the respective district collectors. In all, 2,266 spots are suggested. Public places like government offices, bus stands, railway stations, airports, shopping centres, important junctions, major educational institutions, hospitals and parks are those identified. There would be option for paid usage beyond the free usage limit. The initial bandwidth at all the hotspots would be 10 MBPS and it would be enhanced after evaluating the usage, KSITM sources said. The state already has hundreds of wi-fi hotspots being offered by BSNL, railways and other agencies. With the commissioning of state government's wi-fi public spot project, free wi-fi could be ensured at almost all public places in the state, government sources said.
The state government announced 1,000 public wi-fi hotspot project in 2016. In this year's budget, it was enhanced to 2,000. It would be enhanced further in a phased manner. A delay in initiating the project was due to delay in getting administrative sanction for the '50 crore project. Now technical and financial bids are floated for setting up the infrastructure and running the project for three years and it could be extended for two more years. The public wi-fi hot spots would be later linked with the proposed Kerala Fiber Optic Network (K-FON), said sources.
