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Free Wi-Fi poles in 49 Chennai areas
Any member of the public can access the Wi-Fi in these 49 locations for half an hour at the speed of 2 Mbps for free.
Smartphone users in Chennai can now use free Wi-Fi for 30 minutes at 49 locations as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has installed Smart Poles across the city. It is implemented under the Smart City Mission, urban renewal and retrofitting programme by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs.
Any member of the public can access the Wi-Fi in these 49 locations for half an hour at the speed of 2 Mbps for free. “As of now, there is no provision to extend the timing even if people are willing to pay. We may provide that option in the future,” an official of GCC said, not wishing to be named.
Some of the key locations where the smart poles have been fitted with wifi routers include railway stations, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital, the judges’ entrance of the Madras high court, parks, and seven locations along the Marina beach stretch opposite which important government offices are also located.
“The smart poles were installed in December, but there are barely any users, so we released the list of Wi-Fi locations today to bring this information to the public,” the official said. Users can register from their phones using their full name and mobile number and start using the Wi-Fi after receiving an OTP. The civic body and its technology partners can monitor the number of users at a particular location and the data that they are consuming.
The multifunctional smart poles are connected to a Command Control Centre of the GCC, which the civic body modelled after similar integrated systems in Moscow and Singapore. The smart pole also has an emergency call button that will alert the local police station and GCC. They are fitted with CCTVs, rain gauges, and the poles monitor air pollution levels.
