Tata Docomo to deploy 150 WiFi zones in Bengal

In an attempt to identify 4000 Wifi destinations by the end of FY 2014-2014 in 9 cities across the nation, Tata Docomo, the telecom brand of Tata Teleservices has designated 150 such spots in Bengal itself. Bengal currently has 40-50 Wi Fi zones across the state.

Nationally there are now only 870 such zones. Avinash Gabriel, chief operating officer (WiFi business), Tata Teleservices announced that they have identified few areas where there is an opportunity to set up Wifi zones such as the Calcutta International Airport and Flury's. "We are using our existing infrastructure to start connecting these locations on our fibre optic network for superior services," adds Gabriel.

The public Wi Fi speed of Tata Docomo is between the range of 512 Kbps to 10Mbps. They offer 20 minutes of free service after which users have to purchase counter or online coupons to continue browsing.

"Globally, about 70% of smartphone users are on WiFi. WiFi is operator agnostic. The small screen sizes have taken over completely and this is driving data traffic," said Gabriel.

The deployment of WiFi hotspots is considered to be more cost efficient than that of 3G and 4G services. However, Gabriel also believes that Wifi is not a replacement for 3G but only an alternative when 3G service in unavailable.