Plan to install 2,500 wi-fi hotspots by next fiscal: Telecom Min

Government is targetting to reach the 50-crore internet subscribers mark in the next 6-7 months, besides installing 2,500 wi-fi hotspots at 256 places by the next fiscal, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. "Today mobile penetration is 100 crore, while internet penetration is 40 crore. It took more than 3-4 years to become from 20 to 30 crore.

"It took less than a year to become from 30 to 40 crore and I have fixed a target of 50 crore...God willing, we will cross 50 crore in coming 6-7 months," he said. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of stock exchange BSE's free wi-fi service to public, which has been launched in partnership with Tata Docomo. Noting that wi-fi services are crucial to connect India, Prasad said that state-owned telecom firm BSNL plans to install 2,500 wi-fi hotspots at 256 places by the next fiscal.

So far, the telecom firm has provided 500 hotspots in 200 places. The wi-fi hotspot project will provide a major fillip to the 'Digital India' initiative. The government had in 2014 unveiled the Digital India initiative comprising various projects worth about Rs 1 lakh crore to transform the country into a digitally empowered knowledge economy.

The programme includes projects that aim to ensure that government services are available to citizens electronically and people get benefits of the latest information and communication technology. "Digital India will transform the country and is more for people like chaiwallas and paanwallas so that they can enhance their skills," Prasad said.