Telcos should support roll out of public wi-fi hotspots: Niti Aayog special secy

New Delhi, Apr 5 () Telecom operators need to support rollout of public wi-fi hotspots to gain edge in technology space, Niti Ayog Special Secretary Yaduvendra Mathur said Friday.
“TSPs (telecom service providers) …also need to support this move (roll out of public wifi). If you do not allow for hotspot roll out then we will be again behind the curve,” Mathur said at a Broadband India Forum event.

To push proliferation of wi-fi hotspots, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended that a new set of players to be called Pubic Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) should be allowed to resell Internet services through yesteryear PCO type of set-up that will be called Public Data Offices.

The recommendation of Trai was based on existing rules for cyber cafes.

Telecom operators opposed the public wi-fi model recommended by the sector regulator Trai, saying it will adversely impact debt ridden industry and compromise national security.