• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) prescribed a tariff framework for the PM-WANI scheme.

• Telecom and internet service providers at times require Public Data Offices (PDOs) to connect public wifi access points using expensive Internet Leased Lines, in the name of commercial agreements.

• The TRAI mandates that all retail Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband plans up to 200 Mbps must be offered to PDOs at tariffs not exceeding twice the corresponding consumer broadband price. 

• TRAI said the new pricing framework has been designed to “appropriately balance the interests of all stakeholders” by ensuring affordability for small-scale PDOs while also providing reasonable compensation for the broadband connection to the service providers.

What is PM-WANI?

• Digital infrastructure and services are increasingly emerging as key enablers and critical determinants of a country’s growth and well-being.

• Proliferation of broadband services through public wifi networks is a step towards Digital India and consequential benefits thereon. 

• This will encourage technology entrepreneurs to develop and deploy wifi  technology solutions triggering ‘Make in India’.

• In November 2020, the Department of Telecom (DoT) shared with TRAI that the proliferation of public wifi hotspots is quite limited and much below the targets.

• In December 2020, the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal of DoT to proliferate broadband through public wifi networks under the framework of the Prime Minister’s WiFi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI).

• It enables provisioning of broadband services through a distributed architecture and unbundling of functions. 

• This framework takes forward the goal of National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 of creating a robust digital communications infrastructure. 

• The PM-WANI framework envisages provision of broadband through public wifi hotspot providers. 

• Under the WANI framework, it is envisaged that last mile broadband connectivity, where the consumer accesses broadband services, will be through a network of public wifi access points.

Different players in the WANI ecosystem: 

i) Public Data Office (PDO): It establishes, maintains, and operates only WANI compliant wifi access points and delivers broadband services to subscribers. The local shops and small establishments as PDOs may earn extra income from selling internet without any requirement of license, registration and/or any fees to DoT.

ii) Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): It is an aggregator of PDOs and performs the functions relating to authorisation and accounting.

iii) App Provider: It provides an app to register users and discover WANI compliant wifi hotspots in the nearby area and display the same within the App for accessing the internet service.

iv) Central Registry: It will maintain, in accordance with the WANI architecture and specifications, the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. To begin with, the Central Registry will be maintained by Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT).

• Currently, there are 333,215 PM-WANI wifi hotspots, 205 PDO Aggregators and 111 App Providers across the country.

• A user who wants to access broadband through public wifi will need to download the relevant app, get authenticated, and thereafter access broadband at any public wifi hotspot. When the user reaches a public wifi  hotspot, the app on the mobile phone will show various available networks. The user can then choose the wifi network of choice, pay an amount — either online or through voucher — and use the network till the balance is exhausted.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)