• The Indian telecom industry will rollout 10 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in the country by December,2019.

About:

• • The project has been named as Bharat Wi-Fi, which is a country-wide common inter-operable platform of one million Wi-Fi Hotspots, owned and operated by Telecom Service Providers, Internet Service Providers and Virtual Network Operators.
• This initiative allows consumers to access Wi-Fi Hotspots of any of the partnering operators, it is believed that it will help generate 5 lakh employment opportunities.
• The move is part of the infrastructure called Bharat Wi-Fi, and is believed to be a fresh step in Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative.
• Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications announced it in India Mobile Congress (IMC), one of the biggest marquee Mobile, Internet, and Technology event for South and South-East Asia.
• The need for data hungers drastically rises in India, even more, when Jio creates the Data Revolution in India. It also provoked the rural areas as well for data. So, the Government considers deploying some of these hotspots across rural areas or not.
• One thing was sure about, if the Government completes this Project successfully then, India will become the highest data usage country in the World.
• India’s data-led growth and digital revolution would help realise four ambitious goals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, namely – doubling farmers’ income, Ayushman Bharat Scheme, quality education and employment generation.
• • With world-class digital infrastructure in place India is now ready to not only embrace but actually lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This will make each one of the 130-crore people of India can now productively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

India Mobile Congress:

• • India Mobile Congress was a first of its kind event in the Indian Subcontinent, bringing together Mobile, Internet, and Technology companies on one platform, under the theme, “Connecting the Next Billion”.
• The event was attended by more than 2,000 delegates, 32,000 visitors, 150 Speakers, 100 Exhibitors and 100 start-ups. IMC 2017 firmly established the India Mobile Congress platform as South Asia’s largest digital forum where voice, data and a billion people converge.
• This year, IMC 2018, is envisaged to be an even bigger event with its theme “New Digital Horizons. Connect. Create. Innovate.”. This technology mega event will be held from 25th to 27th October 2018, at Aerocity, New Delhi, organized by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The second edition of IMC expects to bring together the largest congregation of global professionals from the digital ecosystem, encompassing 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Cities, Start-ups in the technology space and allied industry sectors.
• The platform will see a greater International presence with the participation of policy makers and regulators from partner countries in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) regions.