India’s Financial Capital Rolls Out Free-For-Now Wi-Fi

In a city clogged with automobiles, Mumbai’s Wi-Fi free network should habituate residents to the joys of smart parking and transportation apart from hassle-free surfing for visitors.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — In a country where Internet penetration remains low, India's financial capital Mumbai has made it easier than ever for people to get online. The state government has unveiled 500 Wifi hotspots at different locations which can be freely accessed for now. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took to twitter to dedicate to the public the first phase of his "MumbaiWifi" promise.

Happy to dedicate Phase 1 of #MumbaiWiFi.
From this instance, 500 WiFi Hotspots go live across various locations in #Mumbai.

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 9, 2017

​The 500 hotspots are located strategically, mainly at tourist spots, railway stations, important junctions and educational institutions. This open WiFi network is free for all users till the end of January and has no restrictions on residents as well as visitors seeking to log-on while ‘on the go'. Beginning February 1, Mumbai's WiFi use will be charged after the first 30 minutes or 100MB whichever a user consumes earlier. The hotspot coverage area will reflect in users' WiFi list as ‘Aaple_Sarkar_Mum-Wifi'. It will ask users' mobile number to complete the log-in process and once it is entered, the user will receive an OTP (One-Time Password). After entering the OTP, the user will be connected to the internet.

Launch of India’s largest WiFi service #MumbaiWiFi;more thn 500 Hotspots,imp step fr #DigitalEmpowerment @Dev_Fadnavis @narendramodi

— ShainaNC (@ShainaNC) January 9, 2017

​The Maharashtra Government aims to add another 1,200 hotspots by May in the second phase of the project. The Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation (MITC) has collaborated with US-based companies like Hewlett Packard and Fortinet for the technical aspects. The state owned teleco is the bandwidth provider and Larsen & Toubro is the systems integrator.