MTNL to offer Wi-Fi services at indoor locations

PTI Updated - January 26, 2014 at 11:45 AM.

Ailing state-owned telecom company MTNL plans to launch high-speed Wi-Fi services in Mumbai and Delhi, which will provide Internet services to customers at different location, apart from their homes.

MTNL will be tying up with malls, coffee chains and food courts to provide this unlimited Wi-Fi service to its customers.

“We are planning to provide our customers Wi-Fi services at indoor locations such as airports, cafes, food courts, apart from their homes. We will be offering 8 Mbps speed,” MTNL Executive Director Peeyush Agarwal told reporters here over the week-end.

On the tariff side, he said customers will have to use a line-bonding modem to avail themselves of this service, adding that customers already using the MTNL Wi-Fi services on mobile devices will be charged an additional Rs 50-100 apart from their existing monthly rental.

He said MTNL, which operates only in Mumbai and Delhi, has already tied up with the city’s new terminal T2 to provide this Wi-Fi service and is in talks with rest of the two airports for the same.

MTNL will be targeting the Mumbai and New Delhi airports and all the food courts and malls for this service.

Agarwal said an MTNL customer who uses Wi-Fi on multiple devices like laptop, mobile, personal computers and tabs at home, will also have access to Internet on such locations.

Customers will have to register themselves at such places, and just by using their unique login id and password can have access to internet there, he added.

He said there are certain authentication processes required before launching the service and as soon it gets completed, the service will be launched. MTNL has partnered C-bot to provide this Wi-Fi service.

MTNL, which currently has 6 lakh broadband customers, sees an addition of another 2 lakh to its customer base once this service is launched.

Published on January 26, 2014 06:14