The whole of Central Delhi will have seamless internet connectivity in three years from now as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to build “Wi-Fi corridors” in its area. In what it claims to be a first-of-its-kind initiative in the world, the civic agency plans to replace 18,500 street-light poles with ‘Next-Gen digital poles’ which will be fitted with Wi-Fi access points, lED bulbs and CCTV cameras which, it claimed, to be the first-of-its kind initiative in the world.
For this, the NDMC, on Wednesday, signed an MoU with Indus Towers limited for the project before Delhi lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung at Raj Niwas. like that in Connaught Place and Khan Market, a user will get first 20 minutes of 2G, 3G or 4G internet service for free after which a person will have to buy a scratch card. The estimated cost of the project, to be carried out on PPP mode, is Rs220 crore which is likely to be fully commissioned within three years. “On arriving at the IGI Airport, a traveller wants to catch up with his messages and emails to connect with his family. Regrettably the half-an-hour journey from airport is full of bad signals and dropped calls. So, we envisaged a roadside based Wi-Fi corridor for seamless connection of about 20 to 30 minutes of passengers journey till CP,” said Jalaj Srivastava, Chairman, NDMC.
The initiative is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for conservation of energy by switching to lED bulbs and that of the ambitious smart city project. “NDMC jurisdiction begins from Moti Bagh to CP, our first effort was to focus on such corridor along Shanti Path, however, the idea grew. We realised that we can develop a city-wide free Wi-fi network using series of hotspots,” he added. People will be able to avail the facility by filling in details such as e-mail ID and mobile number. After that, a one-time password will be received by the user to connect to the internet.