<p class="title">Since 2013, governments and private companies have baited Bengaluru with announcements of free Wi-Fi hotspots at public places.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The announcement is accompanied by much fanfare, and then… sorry, you are not connected to the Internet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The earlier projects were experimental. Bengaluru doesn't have free Wi-Fi provided by the government now," Priyak Kharge, Karnataka's minister for information technology, told Metrolife.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The pilot project provided "a lot of learning", he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> "Drawing from our experience, we plan to provide 40-50 hotspots in the city by mid-February. By the end of March, we will provide 300 free public Wi-Fi hotspots in the city," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Most citizens are unaware the free Wi-Fi is scrapped.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I used it when it was announced initially but later on I was asked to download an app. We need Wi-Fi for five or so minutes we spend at the station. Who has the time to download an app and log in?" says Laekhaa Eswarraj, a final year degree student.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Others have simply given up. "We mostly use our mobile data as it is faster and much more convenient," says student Nandini Reddy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As Metrolife went around looking for a Wi-Fi signal at the station, Nandini was browsing with her friend Rashika on the steps.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The customer service and ticket counter staff at the station pointed at each other when asked about free Wi-Fi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Varun Hemachandran, founder of NGO Talking Earth, says he is not surprised the state government stopped free Wi-Fi without any intimation. He believes the government would have boasted about it if it had worked.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I have seen ads for free Wi-Fi all over the railway stations where it is provided. It does work brilliantly there, but I guess that's because Google is also involved in it," he says.</p>.<p class="byline">Rajitha Menon</p>
<p class="title">Since 2013, governments and private companies have baited Bengaluru with announcements of free Wi-Fi hotspots at public places.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The announcement is accompanied by much fanfare, and then… sorry, you are not connected to the Internet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The earlier projects were experimental. Bengaluru doesn't have free Wi-Fi provided by the government now," Priyak Kharge, Karnataka's minister for information technology, told Metrolife.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The pilot project provided "a lot of learning", he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> "Drawing from our experience, we plan to provide 40-50 hotspots in the city by mid-February. By the end of March, we will provide 300 free public Wi-Fi hotspots in the city," he says.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Most citizens are unaware the free Wi-Fi is scrapped.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I used it when it was announced initially but later on I was asked to download an app. We need Wi-Fi for five or so minutes we spend at the station. Who has the time to download an app and log in?" says Laekhaa Eswarraj, a final year degree student.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Others have simply given up. "We mostly use our mobile data as it is faster and much more convenient," says student Nandini Reddy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As Metrolife went around looking for a Wi-Fi signal at the station, Nandini was browsing with her friend Rashika on the steps.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The customer service and ticket counter staff at the station pointed at each other when asked about free Wi-Fi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Varun Hemachandran, founder of NGO Talking Earth, says he is not surprised the state government stopped free Wi-Fi without any intimation. He believes the government would have boasted about it if it had worked.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I have seen ads for free Wi-Fi all over the railway stations where it is provided. It does work brilliantly there, but I guess that's because Google is also involved in it," he says.</p>.<p class="byline">Rajitha Menon</p>
