The 11,034 free WiFi hotspots installed across Delhi have not been functional for over a year. reason? According to The Indian Express, the project’s contract has not been renewed, leaving nearly 700,000 daily users without access to the facility.
However, Delhi government officials said talks were underway to revive the scheme at the earliest. “Previously there were 11,000 hotspots, but the government is considering plans to expand coverage to more than 100,000,” the official said.
The free WiFi project, launched in December 2019, was one of the major poll promises of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Users can sign up with their mobile number and receive up to 15 GB of free data each month with 200 Mbps internet speed. At the time, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Just like we treat water and electricity as basic lifelines, we will also make internet free.”
The project came to a halt in December 2022, when a three-year contract awarded to a private service provider for the effort ended, officials said. “The (Public Works) Ministry sent a proposal to the Delhi government to update the project, but there was no approval or indication to continue with the plan,” the official said.
These hotspots were installed in parks, bus stops, metro stations, markets and government buildings in all 70 parliamentary constituencies based on the government’s Outcome Budget Report (April-December 2022) . Data also shows that an average of 700,000 users use free internet every day, and 99% are satisfied with their network speed.
As per the performance budget 2022-23, a budget of Rs 61 million has been allocated for the project for the financial year. More than 2 million people have used the free service over three years, officials said.
The service provider/vendor bears the capital investment and infrastructure costs, while the government bears the operational costs.
People with disabilities were asked to provide free Wi-Fi until December 15, 2022, but the service was suspended on December 16, 2022, a week after the MCD poll results were announced.
Another PWD official said, “It has been more than a year and there is no direction from the top (government) to restart or restart the project. Initially, when the hotspot stopped, in the first few weeks before it stopped. Complaints poured in from people who were using the facility in 2017. There were verbal discussions about restarting the project in 2023, but no official meeting on the issue was held.
© Indian Express Private Limited
Date first uploaded: March 19, 2024, 05:38 IST
