There was a proposal from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in 2017 to set up public WiFi networks accessible through public data offices. This Wi-Fi Access Network Interface will be called PM-WANI. This proposal has been cleared by the Cabinet in Dec. 2020. TRAI mooted the proposal when the data cost was high — Rs.50/GB. These days data has become cheap — Rs. 5/GB. It is to be seen whether Public WIFi will have takers or not.

In this model, small shop owners will buy bulk data from licensed telecom operators. They will sell it to subscribers who do not have WiFi access. It is like selling sachets. People can buy data for limited time period as per their usage. It is useful even in those areas where connectivity of licensed operators is weak. Small shopkeepers running public data office (PDOs) or common service centres will not require any license or registration. The aggregator would be called PDOA. It will do authorisation and accounting.

The app provider will develop an app to register users and discover WANI compliant WiFi hotspots in the nearby area and display the same within the app for accessing internet service. There will be a central register which will maintain the details of app providers, PDOAs and PDOs.

This resembles the PCO model of yore when STD/ISD services were introduced.