Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has invited small merchants and others to set up public Wi-Fi hotspots to work as public data offices (PDO) on pilot basis.

PDOs will work as PCOs in India.

TRAI said India’s data boom is limited due to poor proliferation of Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. India has 31,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, compared to 13 million in France, and 10 million in the United States of America.

Indians face limited access to data networks due to poor coverage of fiber / telecom and prohibitive pricing of cellular data.

TRAI said public Wi-Fi hotspots hold an important place in the last-mile delivery of broadband to users. It allows offloading telecom networks to ease congestion, and will be crucial when the next billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices come online.

The below chart prepared by TRAI shows the top 10 Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in India and their number of Internet subscribers.
Companies or small merchants can set up Wi-Fi hotspots on pilot basis. They can offer free services or charge for services. They can submit details to TRAI on the following email: [email protected] or alternatively: [email protected]. They can contact Arvind Kumar, advisor (BB&PA) at TRAI at 011-23220209 for further clarification.

The objective of the pilot project is to demonstrate that unbundling of service reduces work, speeds up development.

The pilot is also aimed at proving that multi-provider, inter-operable, collaborative model increases the overall innovation in the system, dismantles monopolies and encourages passing of benefits to end users.

How PDOs work?

PDOs are expected to become bustling centers of economic activity, where consumption of data for the average Indian becomes as common as consuming a cup of hot tea. PDOs can change the way India consume Internet.

Despite investment from telecom operators, India has 422.19 million Internet subscribers — 21.58 million wired and 400.62 million wireless Internet connections. India has 285.68 million Internet users in urban areas and 136.52 million rural Internet users. India has a broadband subscriber base of 276.52 million.

32.86 is the total Internet penetration. 70.83 is the Internet penetration in urban areas. 15.49 is the rural Internet penetration.

TRAI aims to offer a seamless experience to end users, both residents and international travelers. Small entrepreneurs such as tea shops should be able to set up and maintain Access Points to offer data to consumers. Device manufacturers, payment companies, ISPs / telecoms and consumer Internet companies can provide the remaining pieces to set up Public Data Offices (PDOs) across India.