Telangana Government to accelerate Hyderabad' IT as a Wi-Fi enabled city

How would it be if you could use a Wi-Fi while buying your vegetables or walking on the street? Well, this is what the Telangana Government has proposed recently. In a bid to make Hyderabad India's major IT hub, a Wi-Fi enabled city, the government is holding talks with various telecom service providers.

With a population of around 12 million, the service will enhance their growth and provide a full time access to the digital world.

According to newspaper reports, Harpreet Singh, secretary of the information technology and communications department, has informed Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao that 90 per cent of the turnover of the IT sector was coming from Hyderabad, with a total turnover of 62,293 crore. The Telangana government confirmed a few weeks later that several firms were coming forward to provide 4G technology for making entire Hyderabad a Wi-Fi enabled city.

The officials have been asked to draft strategies involving international consultants and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, revenue, electricity, Hyderabad Metro Rail and sports departments, as quoted by a government statement.

While plans to make Hyderabad a Wi-Fi enabled city are still on, concerns regarding the access and identification of users is being discussed as an issue.

Free Wi-Fi hotspots can be a risk to the use of data online and risks accessing. Interpol's cyber-crime centre has warned that data theft over Wi-Fi networks is a major issue and has taken a toll in the recent times. Since, there will be no official registration or tracking, identification of users will be a big concern during the period.

The security apparatus and logs of users who accessed the Internet will also be an important issue since the IT Act says anyone who provides Internet access to another person or group is mandated to maintain logs. However it is to be seen, how the government maintains its niche over IT development and maintain the threats arising.