According to the Broadband India Forum (BIF), amendments to Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) framework guidelines will encourage more individuals to run Wi-Fi hotspots within their local community, creating millions of micro-entrepreneurs in India.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has amended the guidelines for PM- WANI allowing roaming between public data office aggregator (PDOA). This will remove the need for a commercial agreement between a telco and PDO, allowing the PDOs to use the existing access points for public and private use. Also, the PDOs have been permitted to accept mobile data offload from the telcos, thereby helping ease the congestion on the mobile network. BIF mentioned that these amendments are likely to unlock the potential of PM- WANI for both public Wi-Fi providers and users, making affordable internet accessible to millions. BIF also stated that the barrier of ‘commercial agreement’ at ‘exorbitant rates’ which PDOs were forced to enter into with telecom firms and internet service providers for internet connectivity has been removed.
Moreover, BIF refuted the arguments given by telcos that PM-WANI was redundant, and it can cause revenue loss. It highlighted that the commercial agreement was misinterpreted by telcos to enforce PDOs to take only internet leased lines at commercial tariffs.
