JOIN USWith the increase in netizens, wi-fi services may be launched in prominent places, including tourist spots in Mysuru.
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited is working on a proposal from Lok Sabha member Prathap Simha for providing wireless Internet services at 13 locations in the city.
Principal General Manager, Mysuru Telecom District, K L Jairam told media, “Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens (Mysuru zoo), Amba Vilas Palace, D Devaraj Urs Road, bus stand, and Law Court’s complex have been recommended for wi-fi facility. Quadgen, the channel partner of BSNL, has surveyed the zoo and has identified four points in the menagerie to provide the service.”
It is on the lines of the service already provided at Bengaluru Rural parliamentary constituency, represented by D K Suresh, said Chief General Manager P Nagaraju. Initially, the service will be provided for free and charged later, as the BSNL vets into commercial viability before launching the service, the officer said.
The service has been already launched in 112 places in the State, including tourist spots and colleges. Cafe Coffee Day, a chain of coffee shops, may also avail the services of the BSNL, Nagaraju said.
GP’s to go online
All the 5,631 gram panchayats in the State will get Internet connectivity by March this year, thus briding the gap in connectivity between people and the government.
The project has been taken up under the Union government’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme.
Repying to media queries Jairam said, “Already 2,260 GPs have been physically covered. In Mysuru circle alone, all 354 GPs (including Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts), have been connected with optical fibre cable (OFC) to ensure net connectivity at greater speeds. That apart, the GPs will be wi-fi enabled, and 45 such offices have been wired, with work completed in 28 offices, the official added.
As part of the initiative, an additional 11,000 km of cables have been laid, in continuation with the existing 60,000 km cable line, he said.
Jairam said that due to the people’s demand, the focus is on data communication against voice communication, as the BSNL is inherently capable of providing high-speed data.
When compared to earlier days, when people were preferring Internet to download, it is a quick reversal with an increase in the uploading genre, the officer added.
Earlier, Chief General Manager, Karnataka Telecom Circle, P Nagaraju said, BSNL has 10 per cent of the cellular service market share, being third among the service providers across the country.
In a span of 13 years, after foraying into mobile service, in the year 2002, the BSNL has made a progress, starting from tribal and rural areas. In the landline sector, BSNL enjoys 85 per cent share, he added.