Bmc's Rs 50 Cr Plan To Make Mumbai Wifi-enabled

[vmsanghrajka 0]

MUMBAI: The metropolis will go WiFi in a few months from now if a public-private partnership initiated by the BMC fructifies. WiFi or Wireless Fidelity enables anyone with a PC or a laptop to access internet without having to plug in. Someone travelling in a car or a train could use it as well.

However, wireless access to the worldwide web will come at a fee although the BMC promises that it will be much cheaper than the present charges.

The Rs 50-crore project proposal is still in its nascent stage and tenders will be invited within a month. The civic body will take up the responsibility of erecting towers, while the service providers will pool in the funds. To get WiFi-enabled, towers will be erected throughout the city. While some will be in the city, others will be in the suburbs and the fringes. The pre-requisites such as roadmap detailing, the licensing, positioning of hotspots, hardware and software requirements and survey of the city for setting up the towers will soon be spelled out.

Mumbai is taking the cue from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)—where tenders have already been floated and where it will soon be implemented. "In Mumbai, it will be a larger scheme as the city covers an area of 437 sq km, almost three times greater than PCMC that is just 171 sq km," said additional municipal commissioner Anil Diggikar. "We do not have to spend anything, but we only have to set up the towers. The service providers will put in the money and some part of the profits they make will be given to the BMC," he added.

The WiFi project has been in the pipeline for the last two years but was declared technically feasible only recently by the Tata Consultancy Services, which is also the official consultant for the BMC's e-governance initiative. The civic body had decided to go wireless last year, but it was restricted only to the BMC headquarters, 24 ward offices, four zonal offices and four civic hospitals.

The WiFi connectivity is aimed at improving services and speeding up the e-governance initiative. According to officials, in the process of e-transformation of the city, a ubiquitous WiFi network is the necessity to have a strong distribution network for both, inter and intracommunication. "It will be simpler for citizens to communicate within themselves or even with the government agencies. The integrated online and service delivery will reduce the cost of interacting with the city and in particular will reduce the paper burden on citizens, businesses and organisations, including community organisations," said a senior official. "The network is compatible for all digital devices and will help plan the future digitisation of the city," he added.

Cyber experts see this as a welcome move that will leapfrog Mumbai in the league of other world cities. "Initially, modern cities were known by the transport, infrastructure and other basic amenities they provided. But now, every city is judged by the internet access that citizens can avail of. If we have to be on global footing, this system will only enhance our chances," he said.

However, he warned that in case of crimes, it would be difficult to trace the source.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/...how/3281798.cms

[copperco2 24]

if i am not wrong then similar attempts were made in a foreign state too at a much higher cost and after a feasibility study it was dropped like a hot potato.

50 cr is peanuts for such a large scale operation and 'maintenance', if it is for a once and forget thing then it s okay.

like the garbage beans, new-stylish-improved and all were fitted at numerous places in mumbai.. and what do you find now is just the pole where the bin was fitted.

those beans have been ripped off... with no replacement. i dont understand why the metal rod was also not taken to be sold in scrap!!!

this is an extreme example but then i feel the projected estimate is too meager for this kind of infrastructure..