The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday announced that it is toying with the idea of introducing a ‘Right to WiFi’ for the citizens of the national Capital. The party announced the same via its official Twitter handle. “Aam Aadmi Party Government of Delhi wants to give its every citizen the ‘Right to WiFi’,” it posted. “The universal access to Internet is a transformative idea that can empower citizen,” it added.
The party has sought suggestion from public on several question related to WiFi that include that how do you define public WiFiIJ Kindly suggest case studies on public WiFi from other parts of the world. What should be the ideal level of access to public WiFiIJ Can it be made available right up to your doorstepIJ If yes, what are the feasibility and technological challengesIJ Or should it be made available at well-defined public spaces in every neighbourhoodIJ What is the infrastructure and technology required to create a public WiFi networkIJ
“What should be the essential services that a Government should aim at providing through public WiFiIJ What is the CapEx and OpEx required to create and operate a public WiFiIJ What could be a model that makes public WiFi viable, sustainable and scalable in terms of usage, technology and financialsIJ Can public WiFi network be made financially self-sustainable if viewed from the welfare service perspective aloneIJ Should there be multiple operators or an exclusive operator in a well-defined zone of the cityIJ What could be the operating architecture that brings all the stakeholders togetherIJ What are the advantages and disadvantages of a private enterprise model vis-à-vis a PSU modelIJ” it asked.
The Delhi Dialogue Commission would like to invite suggestions, viewpoints and recommendations to each of the above ten questions on its email id ddc.delhi@gov.in and the WhatsApp helpline +919643327265. The point-by-point response should be restricted to 200 words each. It is noted that for implementing the Aam Aadmi Party’s poll promise of free WiFi to all in Delhi, achieving the scale is going to be the biggest challenge, say people working on the plan and industry experts.
As many as five million people may hook on to the WiFi network at any given time, according to a person working on the project. New York, Beijing, london and Scandinavian countries all have public WiFi services, but they are much smaller in scale than what Delhi is aiming for. Delhi’s Connaught Place and Khan Market offer free WiFi for a limited period while India’s tech capital, Bengaluru, has many public WiFi zones.
“But for citywide coverage, hundreds of such hotspots, or areas with WiFi access, will be required. Delhi has more than 20 million wireless devices, and at least a quarter of these are expected to be hooked to WiFi at any given time,” said sources in the Government.
In the run-up to the recently held Delhi Assembly elections, AAP had promised to transform Delhi into a ‘world-class city’, with the introduction of free WiFi connectivity in public spaces across the Capital as one of the points in its manifesto.