India's Wifi Struggle: The Roadblocks and Future Prospects

Despite advancements in technology, India's WiFi penetration remains low due to inadequate telecom infrastructure. At a Broadband India Forum event, experts highlighted the need for integrated solutions and greater government intervention to achieve the ambitious target of 5 crore public WiFi hotspots.

Despite significant technological advancements, India's WiFi penetration remains alarmingly low due to inadequate telecom infrastructure, a top official from the Department of Science and Technology revealed on Thursday.

Speaking at the Broadband India Forum (BIF) event on World WiFi Day, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Abhay Karandikar stated that the lack of ubiquitous backend telecom infrastructure is obstructing WiFi growth in India, even as the technology and spectrum availability improve.

'WiFi is essential for providing affordable connectivity, yet in India, public WiFi penetration remains significantly low despite numerous efforts by the government and telecom operators,' Karandikar remarked.

Karandikar noted that as mobile services like 5G and 6G transition to higher frequency bands, it becomes increasingly difficult to provide network coverage inside buildings—an area where WiFi can be instrumental.

According to the Department of Telecom data, around 2 lakh WiFi hotspots have been deployed under the government's PM WANI project, which aims to create a robust digital communications infrastructure by enhancing public WiFi proliferation.

Karandikar suggested that Railtel could play a crucial role in WiFi expansion.

'WiFi can offer solutions for in-building coverage where mobile networks fail to reach. There is a need for an integrated controller at the operator's end for seamless handoff between mobile broadband like 5G and WiFi,' he added.

At the event, BIF President TV Ramachandran mentioned that industry estimates predict the average data consumption per fixed connection could rise to 600-700 GB per month, necessitating extensive WiFi support.

S.N. Gupta, Executive Chairman (CMD) of Bluetown India, pointed out that India has about half a million WiFi hotspots, whereas the global average suggests the need for 1 crore hotspots.

'The government has set a target of 5 crore WiFi hotspots, but we have a long road ahead to meet this goal. A major industry request is for cost-effective backhaul provisions by telecom operators and ISPs, which would require government and regulatory intervention,' he stated.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)