According to reports, the spread of Wifi in India has been lagging behind despite some efforts by the government and telecom operators.

At a Broadband India Forum (BIF) event on World Wifi Day, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Abhay Karandikar says, “The absence of a ubiquitous backend telecom infrastructure is restricting the growth of wifi penetration in India despite advancement in the technology and availability of spectrum.”

“Wifi is a key to providing affordable connectivity and in India, we still continue to lag behind in public wifi penetration in a significant manner despite several efforts made by the government and the operators,” adds Karandikar.

As mobile services like 5G and 6G move to higher frequency bands, it has become difficult to provide networks in buildings where wifi can play a key role.

According to the Telecom Data Bureau, there are about 2 lakh wifi hotspots being deployed under the government's PM WANI project.

“Railtel can play a significant role in the proliferation of wifi. Wifi can provide solutions for in-building solutions where connectivity through mobile cannot reach. There is a requirement to have an integrated controller at the operator's end which can actually provide seamless handoff from mobile broadband like 5G to wifi,” says Karandikar.

Digital subject think tank BIF President TV Ramachandran says, “The industry estimates average consumption per fixed connection per month can zoom up to 600-700 GB and wifi is a must to support those levels of consumption.”

Bluetown India, Executive Chairman ( CMD), SN Gupta says, “There are 50 million wifi hotspots in India, but on the global average there should be 100 million wifi hotspots. The government has set a goal to have a 5crore wifi hotspot and there is a long way to go to achieve that goal.”

“One of the biggest asks of the industry is that telecom operators and internet service providers should provide backhaul in a cost-effective manner where government and regulator's intervention is required,” adds Gupta.