‘Plan is to have the facility in all district headquarters’

BANGALORE: Soon, Bangaloreans will be able to access Internet for free at six more Wi-Fi hotspots.

Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology S.R. Patil said here on Tuesday that the entire city will have Wi-Fi connectivity in about six months.

At present, Jayanagar, Banashankari, Vijayanagar, Shivajinagar, Kengeri TTMC and the satellite bus station on Mysore Road will get connectivity. “It is proposed to have this facility across Bangalore and in all district headquarters. Expressions of Interest have been called and six companies have responded. The process will be completed in six months,” he said.

There is a plan to offer premium or high-end services for a small fee at these locations, he said.

Srivatsa Krishna, Principal Secretary, IT and BT, said that on August 15, Bagalkot will also come into the loop of free Wi-Fi in public spaces.

Currently, three cities have a few of these hotspots. It is available in Bangalore on M.G. Road, Brigade Road, bus stations in Shanthinagar, Koramangala, Yeswanthpur, and CMH Road and 100 ft. road junctions.

In Mysore, Wi-Fi connectivity is available at the city and rural bus stations and in Bgalkot at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office and in Vidyagiri. The usage is limited to three hours a day, with a download limit of 50 MB data.

D-vois Broadband Pvt. Ltd. has been providing a speed of 512 kbps for free. A user gets access through a login program, which sends an eight-digit password to authenticate the user’s cellphone.