500 GB of data consumed daily! Gurgaon using free WI-FI to download files, play games

There aren’t any free lunches, but there is free Wi-Fi in Gurgaon now! Almost a year after it was slated to be rolled out, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon’s (MCG) Wi-Fi project recently. In four locations in the city – Sadar Bazar, Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, MG Road and Sarhaul – one can access free Wi-Fi services for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes users can continue to use the services for a nominal amount.Vivek Kalia, joint commissioner, MCG, tells us that 500GB of data is being used in these hotspots every day.
When we asked Gurgaonwallahs about this service, most were unaware of it and many said they couldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi even after several attempts. However, those who could connect were quite happy with it.
Pokemon go using too much data? use the wi-fi!
The Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29 is a place for family and group outings, as well as a hangout spot for couples. Here, we met a group of people who need internet the most – online gamers – who were happy to spend their ‘me time’ playing online games. Rahul Kalla, a resident of Sector 43, had come with his family to look for pokemons. “Yaar, this (PokemonGo) consumes a lot of data. I am happy that there is free Wi-Fi. It will save me some money as my kids are hooked to it and finish the mobile date very quickly,” he says.
Ranjan Sharma, who works at a private firm at IFFCO Chowk, says, “I come here in the evenings once in a while and update my apps. It’s cool – for 30 minutes I get some fresh air and also save my mobile internet data.”
‘Used the free wi-fi to download heavy files’
The Mall Mile is one of the favourite hangout spots of Gurgaonwallahs. You can usually spot couples exchanging sweet nothings or groups lost in animated conversation every evening. We spotted Krishnendu, a DLF Phase III resident, working on her phone, and asked her if she was using the Wi-Fi. “I don’t trust free Wi-Fi. I certainly feel it is a good move by the MCG, but I have heard enough tales about people’s phones often getting viruses via public Wi-Fi. I am happy to use my data,” she said.
“There is free Wi-Fi?” an excited Vikas Bhatia asked us when we told him about it. He and his friend immediately pulled out their phones to use it. The Sector 56 resident said, “I had to download a heavy file, and I will do it here. The administration should have put a sign board saying it’s a free Wi-Fi zone. Otherwise, how will people know?” His friend Harish, however, couldn’t connect to it.
Alka Singh, who lives near MG Road, says, “I come here to do some light shopping whenever I am bored. Now I have an additional reason to come here. I have used the free Wi-Fi twice, and it worked just fine.”
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Bahut mast chalta hai: shop owner at Sadar Bazar
It’s a market bustling with activities with shoppers visiting it in hordes every day. The place has got an old world charm but people here are equally tech savvy as the ones in New Gurgaon. It is here that we met Amar, who owns a garment store. He says, “I have connected to the Wi-Fi at least six times since it was launched. Bahut mast chalta hai. I use it every time I run a little low on the data pack.”
Kailash Mehta, a shopkeeper at another garment shop, says, “I am busy most part of the day, but whenever I get the time I connect to the free Wi-Fi. Most of the time, it gets easily connected and I surf on a good speed.”
Seema, an interior designer and a resident of Sector 4, who was accompanied by her friend Rashmi, said, “Yes, I read that Gurgaon has free Wi-Fi access now. I completely forgot the places. I overheard two shopkeepers mentioning it and then I realized Sadar Bazar is one of them. Though it’s a nice initiative, I am not sure if the busy shoppers will have the time to use it.”
Kanika, another shopper, begs to differ. The college student said, “I didn’t know there was a Wi-Fi service until very recently. It’s my first visit after learning that. I used it well to mail photos of the clothes I have chosen for my brother and got his approval via mail. Shoppers can use it well to clear confusion regarding what to buy from here by being constantly in touch with their family members using the free Wi-Fi.”
‘This will discourage hacking into private wi-fi networks’
Now, Sarhaul has many lanes and bylanes. After a bit of searching, we found one of the lanes where we could receive signal. Gopal Chauhan, an account manager at an analytic company, who lives nearby, said, “The Wi-Fi came as a surprise to me. One day, I discovered it, logged in and I could surf at a decent speed. For a fortnight, I have been using it and it seems like MCG wanted to gift me something personally.”
Dharmendra, a freelance photographer, said, “I use Instagram a lot to see different kinds of wedding pictures, which consumes half of my data. The Wi-Fi has helped me save a lot of it.”
Abdul Mabud, a civil contractor, said, “Many teenagers here I have heard can even use private Wi-Fi as they have learnt the art of hacking. I hope this will persuade them to stay away from such notorious acts.”
In its second phase, MCG plans to cover areas like Cyber City, Mahavir Chowk, Galleria Market, Sikanderpur and Sector 14.
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The connectivity issue
Sanjeev, a businessman whom we met at Sector 29, says, “It is useless trying to connect to public Wi-Fi. Kahin nahi lagta. When the international airport can’t provide a decent service, what can you expect out of this one?” There were many like Sanjeev, who failed to connect to the Wi-Fi at all the four locations.
An IT expert, not wishing to be named, explaining the reason, tells us, “A Wi-Fi has many access points and each access point can accommodate only a limited number of people at a time. So, when many people try simultaneously to connect to one access point, it gets a little jammed which causes connectivity problems.”
An Airtel (which is the service provider) spokesperson says, “We have received very good feedback from the users and are seeing healthy data volumes on the network. We will continue to optimize the network further to ensure that users have a great online experience.”
Will make the service better: MCG
Vivek Kalia, joint commissioner, MCG, who had proposed the free Wi-Fi project in Gurgaon, says, “I have been informed that 500GB of data is being consumed every day. Sadar Bazar and Sarhaul are consuming more than MG Road and Sector 29. It is still in the initial phase and we are constantly monitoring the project. We will strive to provide better services in terms of reach and quality. People are welcome to send us their feedback.”