Bengalureans may crib about not having mobile reception inside underground metro stations and about frequent call drops, but their constant quest for ‘connectivity’ has not been enough to make them take full advantage of the free Internet facility available in some parts of the city.
Despite becoming one of the first cities in the country to have free Wi-Fi hotspots a few years ago, Bengaluru’s user numbers are said to be woefully short of the potential, even in the ‘happening’ parts such as M.G. Road and Brigade Road. Users are allowed 100 MB free download and 512 kbps speed.
The free Wi-Fi hotspots, which are also available at the High Court, 10 traffic transit management centres (TTMCs), and 15 Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus stands, see an average of 5,000 to 7,000 users daily.
Dismal numbers
On M.G. Road and Brigade Road, where the hotspots were introduced in 2014, there are 1,000 to 1,500 users every day. This is dismal compared to the expected overall user base of 50,000 to one lakh.
“Both M.G. Road and Brigade Road have a floating population. For those who are there for longer, there is a 100 MB cap on downloading. The number of users is slightly higher in the TTMCs and KSRTC bus stops as people may be using Internet for browsing routes or buses. There, there is greater waiting time,” said Manoranjan Singh, national sales head, Wi-Fi division, D-VoiS Communications Pvt. Ltd., the Internet service provider to the State government for the pilot project. They plan to introduce data packs once the usage goes up.
The rather tepid response to the facility is being attributed to lack of awareness, more than anything else. “Earlier, smartphone penetration was not much, and this directly impacted the number of users. Secondly, the government will have to promote the facility so that people know of its availability now,” Mr. Singh said.
Also, those who own shops or offices have their own Internet facility, while most smartphones are Internet-enabled, eliminating the need for Wi-Fi.
Where they are available
10 TTMCs
15 KSRTC bus stands
High Court of Karnataka
M.G. Road
Brigade Road
Average number of users every day: 5,000 to 7,000
Network capacity: 50,000 to 1 lakh
