CM launches WiFi hotspots as Delhi faces internet shutdown

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday launched the much awaited free WiFi hotspot scheme, while parts of the city faced an internet shutdown.

While Kejriwal launched the scheme at ITO bus stand, his deputy Manish Sisodia launched the scheme at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro station.

Speaking to the media, he said "it is an irony that the day we started the free internet scheme, the internet services are being shut in the city."

"We hope that the situation will be soon brought under control."

Over 100 hotspots were given to the national capital, as part of Kejriwal's poll promise of providing free internet in the city.

He said in the next six months, the city will get 11,000 hotspots.

"This is phase one. In phase two, we will give hotspots to the entire city."

On Thursday, the anti-CAA protests gained momentum, following which the Delhi Police wrote to mobile phone operators including Airtel, Jio, MTNL, BSNL, and Vodafone Idea to stop all communication services in many parts of the national capital.

The areas where the cellular services have been shut include north and central Delhi. Mandi House, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur, Jafrabad and Bawana are other areas where mobile services have been curtailed.

Addressing the audience, Kejriwal said: "I am very happy to announce the initiation of free WiFi installation in Delhi. 11,000 WiFi hotspots are to be installed across Delhi, 4,000 hotspots will be installed at bus stops and 7,000 hotspots will be installed at various market places and other RWA locations."

He said each hotspot will cover a radius of 80 meters.

Kejriwal added that every user will be given a free data limit of 15 GB data per month, with a data limit of 1.5 GB data per day.

"The people of Delhi will be able to locate a WiFi connection after every 500 meters in the city, with the hotspot connections supporting a radius of 100 meters. Every user will be given a free data limit of 15 GB data per month, with a data limit of 1.5 GB data per day. On an average, the maximum speed of the connection of the data will be 200 Mbps, but the estimated speed will be between 100-150 Mbps."

Each hotspot will be able to support 150-200 users simultaneously, which amounts to around 22 lakh users simultaneously accessing the internet across the city, he said.

Kejriwal added a mobile application has also been created for this purpose, which will require the users to fill their KYC details and use the OTPs received on their phones to access the hotspot connections.

He explained that the WiFi connections will not be disconnected on change of locations.

"The WiFi connections will not get disconnected if a user enters one hotspot zone from another, and the connection will be automatically regained. Further installation of more hotspot connections across the remaining areas of the city will be determined on the basis of the experience and the success of these 11,000 hotspot connections."IANS