Is there anything more annoying these days than not having access to the internet. Hell, I get frustrated when my Wifi goes down for 5 seconds! And I’m pretty sure it’s not just me. If we had to last 1 week without internet, we would probably have a breakdown at this point. How would you order food for yourself? How do you call a cab? How would you check the match score online while stuck in a boring meeting? How would you Netflix and chill???! Oh, the horror!
However, it looks like the people of Bengaluru won’t have to live a nightmare like this. Because all 198 wards of Bengaluru will soon have free wireless access to the internet in public spaces.
According to the Economic Times, the Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara made the announcement on Sunday. He was speaking after inaugurating free wi-fi facility at the Govindaraja Nagar ward.
The DCM holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio and said that the government agencies are working towards introducing the facility cross Bengaluru.
A BBMP official was quoted as having said:
“The city corporation and the Information Technology department is having talks with various service providers to chalk out strategies for the free wi-fi connectivity.”
The free wi-fi facility has been launched on a trial basis at Govindaraja Nagar and internet facility is provided by Reliance JIO within a 3km radius. According to the initial stage of planning, citizens will have free access to internet for a duration of 30 minutes. Following that, they will have to pay commercial rates as per TRAI standards for internet usage.
Der aaye, magar durust aaye! Hopefully, other cities will follow Bengaluru’s lead and get started on such projects.