Telangana State Government unveils Hyderabad City Hy-Fi Project

Telangana State Government has launched the ‘Hyderabad City Wi-Fi Project’ also known as Hy-Fi, with over 1000 hot-spots across the state capital which was Inaugurated by theHon’ble Mayor of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Shri Bonthu Rammohan, the project will cover 3000 hotspot locations within the city. The launch ceremony was attended by many senior state government officials and dignitaries including Shri Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Principal Secretary, ITE&C Department, Govt. of Telangana and Shri. B. Janardhan Reddy (IAS), Commissioner, GHMC. COAI is the technical advisor to the Government of Telangana in this ambitious project, was represented by Shri Rajan S. Mathews, Director General, COAI on the panel. Shri Mathews was joined by several leaders from the telecom industry including Shri Venkatesh Vijayraghavan, Circle CEO – Bharti Airtel, Shri Bala Malladi, CEO – ACT Fibernet and Shri Sujit Sen, Circle CEO – Indus Towers.

In June 2015, under the ‘Digital Telangana’, the Government of Telangana has launched the pilot version of Hyderabad City Wi-Fi Project (Hy-Fi) which saw the government partner with ISPs to provide free Wi-Fi for 30 minutes at approximately 100 public category locations across Hyderabad. Over the last two years, the number has more than doubled to cover about 250 locations. Given the tremendous success the pilot project has seen, the Govt. of Telangana has decided to scale up the project to cover more than 3000 locations across Hyderabad. In fact, a separate Government Order has been brought out specifically to enable smooth execution of the program for ISPs. The Government has agreed to take a two phased approach to complete the Wi-Fi project which is a unique example of government and industry participation for enriching community life and enhancing public safety. At present, over 1000 hotspots are being installed with an assured bandwidth of 5-10 Mbps offering 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi.

Shri Rammohan said, “Being the newest state of the country, Telangana aspires to be the best state in all aspects. Hyderabad has been an inspiration for other cities in IT, business and living standards, and this city will continue to adopt new technologies to uplift the lifestyle of each citizen. Hy-Fi will set another example making Hyderabad a truly connected city even on the digital front.”

Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, ITE&C Department, Govt. of Telangana said, “Digital India is the future and Telangana is marching ahead to achieve this dream. Hy-Fi is another pro-people initiative where citizens will avail free Wi-Fi to do their work. Businessperson, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, students, women and tourists will benefit from this essential service.”

Shri Rajan S. Mathews, Director General, COAI said “With successful completion of the Hy-Fi project, Hyderabad and Telangana will emerge as an example for rest of the country. It is a proud moment for the state and the telecom industry as well. As partners in this ambitious project, the telecom industry will partner in the timely completion of the project. This will provide high speed internet access connecting citizen with education, commerce and opportunities”.

Mathews further added that “COAI represents the leading telecom and technology companies across the country and Hyderabad is the city of choice for everything IT. We look forward to working closely with government of Telangana and are proud to be consultants of the government in its endeavour for a fully connected Digital India”.

Shri Venkatesh Vijayraghavan, Circle CEO – Bharti Airtel said, "Airtel has been a partner in the Government’s Digital India vision and we are delighted to support Hy-fi, the country's largest and fastest public Wi-Fi network. With this digital initiative, Hyderabad has further cemented its reputation as one of India’s technology capitals. Together with the Government of Telangana and the industry we are committed to demonstrating endless possibilities of new digital experiences to the citizens of Hyderabad.”

Tags: Telangana State Government, Hyderabad City Hy-Fi Project, Hyderabad City Wi-Fi Project, Digital Telangana, COAI, Bharti Airtel, Digital India