The Indian Express             24.12.2013

U-turn: BMC might charge you for its WiFi service

After promising to provide free WiFi service to Mumbaikars, the BMC is now likely to charge citizens for it. The proposal to provide WiFi coverage, which was among the promises made by Shiv Sena in the run-up to the civic elections last year, was now in its final stage.

"We are working out the financial estimates of the project and hope to launch a pilot project in two months," said Mayor Sunil Prabhu.

Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas said, "The service might be charged or subsidised for a few years depending on the project cost."

While towers will be erected to roll out the WiFi network across the city, the BMC is planning to launch the scheme in South Mumbai at the civic headquarters at CST, Bombay Stock Exchange at Dalal Street, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road in Colaba, Hutatma Chowk in Fort and Mahatma Gandhi Road.

Wi-Fi service will enable citizens to access the Internet anywhere in the city, including public transport such as buses and trains, without any cable connections, PCs or laptops.

Civic officials said a detailed plan to erect towers in the city was being drawn up. This will entail

locating spots to install towers, detailed study of the road network, software and other hardware installations.

The project, which was initially planned in 2008, was later scrapped after the 26/11 terror attacks.