On November 9, 2020, the Union cabinet approved a new policy to allow businesses to offer wireless internet hotspot services through the project ‘Pradhan Mantri Wi-Fi Access network interface, or PM-WANI’. In this regard, public Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) networks will be set up by public Data office aggregators (PDOAs) to provide Wifi- services through public data offices (PDOs) which will be set up along the lines of public calling office and could even be a general provision store. However, the idea of a PDO was first floated by the telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2017. TRAI set up the initial pilot project for PDO after six months in which companies like Facebook participated. In 2018, TRAI reported that the users should be able to buy ‘sachet-sized’ internet plans that varied between ` 2 and ` 20, and can be used anytime. TRAI suggested that Public WiFi was one of the best ways to plug the gap of high speed and reliable broadband connectivity. In India, some 10 per cent mobile users use WiFi technology for communication, whereas in most major economies, the rate is 50 to 70 per cent. Therefore, WiFi technology should be exploited at affordable prices, and there should be at least a 100 million public WiFi hotspots in India by 2023 to bridge the gap.
Proliferation of broadband Internet services across the country is an essential ingredient of Digital India. This initiative will strengthen Digital India mission by providing last mile internet connection and will play a crucial role in addressing the digital divide. It would facilitate the broadband services and improve performance by different players under the WANI eco-system. This will be a four-tier system, based on PDO, PDO Aggregator, App Provider, and Central Registry Provider, which will operate the WANI ecosystem.
- Public Data Office (PDO) will establish, maintain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers.
(a) It can either provide the internet on its own or lease it from other telecom or internet service providers.
(b) It can establish multiple Wi-Fi Access Points and logically connect them with different Captive Portals of PDOAs. However, a WiFi Access Point of any PDO will be logically connected with a Captive Portal of any PDOA.
(c) It will have commercial agreement with licensed Telecom Service Providers (TSP) or Internet Service Providers (ISP) for internet connectivity and with PDOA for aggregation, authorisation, accounting, and other related functions as per the WANI framework.
- Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) will be an aggregator of PDOs and perform the following functions relating to authorisation and accounting of PDOs:
(a) PDOA will register with central registry using its public certificate for signature validation.
(b) It will also register its associated PDOs’ Wi-Fi access points along with service set identifier (SSID), and locations. (SSID is a unique ID that consists of 32 characters and is used for naming wireless networks SSIDs and locations).
(c) It will aggregate multiple WANI-enabled Wi-Fi access points being operated by individual PDOs and authorise the subscribers, authenticated by the App Provider, to access internet services.
(d) It will integrate the captive portal with different types of digital payment service providers such as UPI, e-wallets, credit and debit cards, online banking, etc., for payment transactions by users and PDOA.
(e) It will declare the tariff for subscribers and keep account of usage of each subscriber.
(f) It will maintain the details of usage of individual subscriber at a given point of time, whereas the internet traffic will route directly from WiFi access point of PDO to the network of interconnecting licensed service provider.
(g) It will be permissible for any two PDOAs to enter into a roaming agreement for permitting each other’s subscribers to access internet from any Wi-Fi access points associated with them.
(h) It will handle all complaints of users as per the orders, issued by the DoT or its authorised representative.
- App Provider will perform the following functions:
(a) App Provider will develop and maintain a software application and back-end authentication infrastructure for users to signup, discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots, and do single-click connect from within the App.
(b) It will be available for download on the Play Store as well as Apple Store, and will enable users to register for using the public WiFi at a particular place. Therefore, users will not be required to download different apps because a single app would be sufficient to provide seamless connectivity to any PDO.
(c) It will register with central registry using its public certificate for signature validation. The App will allow users to create a profile and do their mobile verification using OTP.
(d) It will authenticate each subscriber periodically based on some predefined algorithm.
- Central Registry Provider will perform the following functions:
(a) The Central Registry Provider (CRP) will maintain the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs in accordance with the WANI framework.
(b) It will ensure interoperability among WANI compliant Wi-Fi access points, captive portal of PDOA, and App.
(c) It will certify the systems and software applications of App provider or PDOA as per the checklist provided with WANI architecture and specifications within 10 working days after the app provider or PDOA submit the same for certification.
(d) In case of any non-compliances with the WANI architecture and specifications in the systems and software applications of app provider or PDOA, as communicated in writing by the central registry provider, app provider or PDOA will attend to the same within 20 working days and resubmit to the central registry provider for certification.
(e) It will delete the details of app providers, PDOAs, or PDOs on instructions from the DoT.
Registration for PDO The registration system of PDOs will follow a simple process. The registration would be approved within seven days of the submission of application. If not, it shall be deemed approved by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT). For registration as PDOA or App Provider, the applicant will apply for registration with DoT on ‘SARALSANCHAR’ (Simplified Application for Registration and Licences) Portal, saralsanchar.gov.in.
Benefits of PM-WANI Benefits of this scheme can be summarised as follows.
- The scheme has the potential to revalutionise the way India accesses the internet and incentvise the small business.
- Presently, there are about 5 lakhs public WiFis, PM-WANI will probably increase this number by 10 million in the next two years.
- It will help extend the services throughout the country. Bharatnet will also be used to provide public WiFi.
- It will create employment with kirana shops, paan shops.
- It will enable Indian citizens to immediately log in and enjoy access on all available WiFi networks. It will also allow international travellers to use internet without paying exorbitant roaming charges to their home networks.
- It also seeks to provide a single click and multi-device experience.
- It will lead to demand side pull to fixed-line connectivity making these as profitable lines for telecommunications.
- The PDOs can become local distribution centres for content. Students in rural areas can access offline content without using bandwidth.
- If this is combined with the liberalisation of the other service providers regulations, India would pave the way for digital SMEs to go online without the burden of onerous compliances.
The PM-WANI Scheme will facilitate the creation of millions of hotspots with the help of a large army of small entrepreneurs or PDOAs. They will provide Wi-fi without investing heavy costs. Wi-fi hotspots will grow live small scale industries, providing employment and income generation. The UPI movement of India can be realised through this project and a real digital India can be visulaised.