INFONET-PMWANI

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the proposal of Department of Telecom (DoT) to proliferate Broadband through Public Wi-Fi networks under the framework of the Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) on 9th December 2020.

This framework takes forward the goal of National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 (NDCP) of creating a robust digital communications infrastructure. The PM-WANI framework envisages provision of Broadband through Public Wi-Fi Hotspot providers. It will consist of elements such as Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA), App Provider and Central Registry.

Importance of PM-WANI Framework

"To facilitate ease of doing business and encourage local shops and small establishments to become Wi-Fi providers, it has been approved that the last-mile Public Wi-Fi providers require no license, no registration and will not need to pay any fees to DoT."

In fact, PDOAs, who will aggregate the last-mile providers will also not require any license. These PDOAs will only have to register, for which no fees will be charged. The registration process will be completed within 7 working days of the receipt of applications.