Bengaluru to get free wifi in six months: Dy CM

All 198 wards of Bengaluru will get free wireless connectivity to access internet in public places, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara announced on Sunday.

Speaking after launching free wi-fi facility at Govindaraja Nagar ward, the DCM who holds Bengaluru Development portfolio said that the government agencies are working on modalities to introduce the facility across Bengaluru.

In Govindaraja Nagar, where free wi-fi facility has been launched on a pilot basis, Reliance JIO is providing internet facility in 3km radius. Citizens can use the public wi-fi by entering their phone number as password. “The city corporation and the Information Technology department is having talks with various service providers to chalk out strategies for the free wi-fi connectivity,” a BBMP official said.


The ambitious plan to provide wi-fi connectivity across Bengaluru was in the backburner for long. Lack of clarity on rentals for different types of telecom infrastructure is said to be delaying the public internet service. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike was delaying the process of fixing rentals for smaller telecom equipment called access points.

As per the initial pan, citizens will get to use public wifi free for the first 30 minutes. They will have to pay the commercial rates, as fixed by the TRAI, for using the service beyond the free minutes. Four companies had expressed interest to provide public wifi hotspots when the project was initially planned.