Great news for Delhiites! The Municipal Council of New Delhi, which is the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is planning to provide free WiFi service for the first 20 minutes of internet access, in the areas which are under its jurisdiction in the next six months. According to Naresh Kumar, Chairman, NDMC who was quoted in a recent IE report, the council is planning to set up as many as 625 smart poles to provide internet connectivity across the areas. The Chairman spoke at a programme, celebrating four years of the ‘NDMC Smart City Initiatives’.
Presently, similar WiFi service is operational across a 5 square km area around the inner and outer circles of Connaught Place (CP), including its Central Park. A senior official stated that the card, which is presently being given by a private firm, costs Rs 10 for 30 minutes of internet, Rs 20 for 60 minutes, and Rs 50 for 180 minutes of internet access.
According to the official plan, people will be able to avail the WiFi facility on their phones or on other electronic devices by filling in the details such as email ID and phone number. After the first 20 minutes, they can continue using the internet through a rechargeable card, for which the NDMC tie-up with a private firm.
According to NDMC, the details of the technology and infrastructure needed for this WiFi project are as follows:
The smart poles will be installed at a height between 9 and 12 metres, and will be hosting microcells for telecommunication for internet services.
The smart poles will have cabinet inclusions in order to facilitate the telecom operators to place their equipment, and this will provide free WiFi service for a defined time period to the registered users.
NDMC has already set up 55 such smart poles with free WiFi service features, environment sensors with the display units, CCTVs as well as LED street lights last year. For future purposes, these smart poles can also be utilized to establish the connectivity between government departments and the control centres of different agencies.
NDMC has also identified as many as 200 dark stretches in the capital to install the LED street lamps and is also planning to introduce a public e-scooter system. Meanwhile, the Delhi government has been battling with the issue of free WiFi since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power in the year 2015. One of their biggest promises was to provide WiFi for citizens for a limited period of time and give data download limit each day. According to their latest plan, the tender deadline for the free WiFi project is December 31 of this year.