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Business Desk – India Public WiFi One Password: Taking a lesson from the shortcomings of the PM-WANI initiative, the government is preparing to bring a new and better public Wi-Fi system. The purpose of this new framework is to improve the user experience and make digital payments more secure.

Users will no longer need a separate OTP for each different hotspot. A single OTP or password will be enough to log in to 400,000 hotspots spread across the country. The telecom regulator (TRAI) has released a consultation paper regarding this initiative and sought suggestions from the public.

To ensure the security of public Wi-Fi, standards such as ‘Wi-Fi Protected Access 3’ will be implemented. This will provide another layer of security for UPI and digital payments, even in crowded or high-traffic areas.

Creating a Monetization Model

According to the consultation paper, the existing Wi-Fi system did not gain much popularity as it did not become an essential feature for the users. Moreover, it could not even generate income for the operators. Therefore, the government aims to design the proposed Wi-Fi system as a successful earning model for operators. To achieve this, several options such as advertising-based models, paid subscription plans, and subsidies (viability gap funding) will be introduced.

Implementation of ‘Community Wi-Fi’ model

High-speed internet model will be implemented in urban areas, while low-cost ‘community Wi-Fi’ model will be introduced in rural areas. Out of India’s population of 1.4 billion, only 2% currently use public Wi-Fi services.

In comparison, 80% of the population of South Korea, 70% of the US, 60% of Europe and China, and 50% of the England population use public Wi-Fi services. This new framework proposed by TRAI will not only increase internet access but will also reduce the increasing data load on the existing mobile networks.

Affordable Internet to strengthen digital infrastructure

According to former BSNL Chairman Arun Srivastava, this initiative not only improves the quality of connectivity, but also strengthens the country’s digital infrastructure by making internet access more affordable. Especially for those people who cannot afford expensive data plans.

He said that Wi-Fi is a better option for data-intensive applications like video, cloud and AI-based services. It is also necessary to access services like e-governance.