After ‘Namma Metro’ meaning ‘Our Metro’, Bangalore is all set to get something we all are dreaming of but never got – free Wifi, the first such service in the country, branded as ‘Namma Wifi’.
With Lok Sabha elections fast approaching the Congress Government in Karnataka is announcing various schemes to appease the voters. Call it efforts to garner votes or poll gimmick, people are sure to reap benefits out of it.
The happening places of M G Road, Brigade Road and four other locations in the city of Bangalore will be able to enjoy free wireless Internet connectivity starting this Friday.
It will be formally launched near Metro station on M.G. Road. The launch will fulfill a promise made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his last budget speech.
The service will also be available at Traffic and Transmit Management Centres (TTMCs) at Shanthinagar, Yeshwanthpur and Koramangala, besides CMH Road in Indiranagar
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How to access?
To access free wifi in the hotspots, users will have to open their browser, which will take them to the “Namma Wifi” page. They have to key in their mobile phone number to which a password would be sent. Once the password is keyed in, the user can browse the net free for 30 minutes in 24 hours. Users can expect internet speeds of about 512 kbps. There will, however, be restrictions on accessing certain websites.
If you have accessed internet on Airport terminals, ‘Namma Wifi’ will work on similar lines.
Tie-up
The government has tied up with D-VoiS, a private internet service provider, to execute the project.
Where else?
Plans are also afoot to provide similar service in Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and some other towns in north Karnataka in the coming months.
Whose brainchild?
The idea of providing free Wi-Fi access was mooted by Karnataka Information and Communication Technology Group (KIG-2020) headed by technocrat T V Mohandas Pai of the Manipal Global Education fame, in its recommendations to the government. Pai said KIG felt that the IT capital needed to have a few free Wifi zones.
One would have expected such services to start in Mumbai or Delhi first but this is a good move by the Government.
Hope other cities to follow up fast…
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