The Hindu         06.01.2015  

Major city centres to go Wi-Fi in April

Ten major city centres will have public Wi-Fi shortly.

Kochi Corporation, in association with the public sector telecom company, BSNL, will offer the facility at Fort Kochi, Mattanchery, Marine Drive, High Court, Subash Park, Main Office of the Kochi Corporation, Jos Junction, Vyttila Mobility Hub, Edappally Junction and Kaloor in the first phase. The facility will be available free for 15 minutes a day for one month.

The free offer will be extended depending on the traffic and demand of the customers.

The telecom company will create 10 access points for extending the service. For availing of the facility, one needs to create a password and user ID using a valid mobile phone number, said G. Muralidharan, Principal General Manager, BSNL, Ernakulam.

Though the tariff for using the facility has not been finalised, it will come cheap. It will cost at least by 30 per cent less than the internet charges levied for wired connections and mobile phones, he said.

The scheme is part of the efforts of the Kochi Corporation to make Kochi a Wi-Fi city, said Mayor Tony Chammany.

The infrastructure facilities of the Kochi Corporation will be made available for the telecom company for the purpose.

According to the BSNL official, Wi-Fi will be available at a radius of 300 metres from the access points and a bandwidth 10 Mbps will be available for the customers. Customers can use the facility by top up coupons or by online purchases.

The Wi-Fi zones will become fully operational by March. The general public can access the facility from April, he said.

The towers for offering the facility will be placed at a height of around 10 metres and there would not be any radiation hazards, he said.

Mr. Chammany claimed that Kochi was the first city to provide Wi-Fi facility over a larger area. The proposal will be placed before the Kochi Corporation Council for approval.

Deputy Mayor B. Bhadra and senior officials of the Kochi Corporation were also present at the press conference.

The facility will be available free for 15 minutes a day for one month and will be extended  depending on the demand.