- US social networking major Facebook is investing Rs 5 crore per annum for buying bandwidth from state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural India to drive digital penetration in the country.
- It will spend Rs 5 lakh per site a year for buying bandwidth from BSNL for a period of three years.
- BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava said, consumers can get free internet connectivity for the first half an hour.
- The Wi-Fi network has a capacity to allow an average of 2,000 individuals to latch on at the same time.
- BSNL, on its part, is optimistic about its Wi-Fi initiatives and has rolled out 450 hotspots with a focus on pan-India tourist spots.
- It aims to set up a total of 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots by the end of current fiscal year through March 2016.
Source: EconomicTimes