Arvind Kejriwal announces launch of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Delhi on December 16

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also said that the government is planning to link all its CCTVs with the Wi-Fi system in the future. Hindustan Times had reported about this on July 1 this year.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that his government will launch hotspots providing free Wi-Fi across Delhi on December 16.

Kejriwal said the first 100 hotspots will be launched on December 16 following which 300 more will be added every week. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

Providing free Wi-Fi to all was one of the key poll promises of the 70-point manifesto released by the Aam Aadmi Party during the 2015 Assembly elections.

“With this our last promise of AAP’s manifesto has also been fulfilled,” Kejriwal said at a press conference on Wednesday. The announcement comes ahead of the Assembly polls in Delhi scheduled for early next year.

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Kejriwal said the first 100 hotspots will be launched on December 16 following which 300 more will be added every week.

In the first phase as many as 11,000 hotspots will be created in the coming six months. Out of this, 4,000 will be created at bus stops and the remaining 7,000 at markets and colonies, he said.

Of the 7,000, each of the 70 constituencies will have 100 such spots. The budget of the project is around Rs 98 crore.

Kejriwal also said once the 11,000 hotspots are created, people will get free internet access in every half a kilometre across the national capital.

“Every day each user will get up to 1.5 GB data and the monthly limit will be 15 GB. The average speed will range from 100-150 Mbps with congested areas having internet speed of up to 200 Mbps,” he said.

“Like free water and power, the Delhi government feels that today in the age of technology, people should also be entitled to access to basic internet facilities. This project fulfils that,” he said.

The chief minister also said that the government is planning to link all its CCTVs with the Wi-Fi system in the future. Hindustan Times had reported about this on July 1 this year.

The AAP, which came to power by winning 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi assembly, was unable to begin its flagship project in the first four years of its tenure.

In 2016, the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi was in charge of the Wi-Fi project and had launched a pilot run in north Delhi’s Sant Nagar. The pilot failed and the scheme was then transferred to the government’s Information Technology, which failed to prepare a project report.

In March 2018, the Delhi government shifted the project to the Public Works Department (PWD). By January 2019, the department had shortlisted three possible models.