BSNL to setup public WiFi hotspot in South zone with speed up to 10 Mbps

BSNL has awarded contract to QuadGen Wireless Solutions Pvt Ltd for setting up and operate Wi- Fi hot spots at public places in South zone. The states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala would benefit from this project. The project will be on a revenue sharing basis between BSNL and QuadGen Wireless Solutions. We were able to obtain detailed information on terms of the contract.

BSNL mobile customers would be able to access these public WiFi network to offload their data. Customers can also purchase prepaid vouchers to access the WiFi hotspots. They can also recharge their WiFi accounts online. BSNL also announced that special tariff plans for BSNL post paid Broadband customers will be announced were customer can use broadband from Wi-Fi hotspots on payment of monthly fees.

BSNL has categorized WiFi hotspot into following 3 types

• Small Hotspot: Cafe, Lounge, Food court etc, - 2 Mbps(dedicated)
• Mid Size Hotspot: Malls, IT Parks, Resorts, Hospitals etc – 4 Mbps(dedicated)
• Large Hotspot: Campus, Very large mall, uncovered broadband semi urban/rural areas – 10 Mbps(dedicated)

Important terms of contract

• Retail hotspots across India shall be created by tying up with various retail outlets.
• BSNL will provide the bandwidth on best effort basis for a Hotspot location premises.
• Set up call Center for dealing with customer requests/complaints and also extend mechanism for Web support.
• BSNL shall use its sales channel for distribution of vouchers/recharge coupons to avail wi-fi hot spot services.
• Bidder shall maintain the branding of BSNL throughout while they will be availing the services.
• For Project-1 (South Zone) revenue share for BSNL is 34%.
• Duration of contract is 5 years from the date of Launch of service from the first hot spot location.
• Status report shall be sent on 31-03-2015 or Roll out of Hotspot services at 25 locations in the zone, whichever is earlier.

Roll-out obligation and Performance SLA

BSNL has put forward strict roll-out obligation for QuadGen Wireless Solutions to meet. This include launch of Hot Spot within 3 months from the date of place of Work Order. Also BSNL want QuadGen to meet revenue target of Rs 50 lahks for year 2 and Rs 1 core for year 3 in each zone. Failure to meet the target would lead to compensate BSNL for the shortfall in BSNL revenue share.

BSNL has also put forward strict performance and SLA targets. Acceptable downtime for hotspot is less than 30min per day and service should be activated within 4 hours. Minimum download speed should be measured for each plan and reported to TRAI.

BSNL trying to compete with private WiFi operators?

Recently Airtel and Reliance Jio announced their plans to start public WiFi hotspots across the country in connection with their 4G service. These moves were aimed at upcoming data revolution in India. BSNL is trying to compete with private operators with its own public WiFi service.