BSNL to Invest Rs. 7,000 Crores to Set Up 3G, 4G Wi-Fi Hotspots :

State-run telecom operator BSNL will invest Rs. 7,000 crores in setting up Wi-Fi hotspots integrated with 3G, 4G networks across the country over the next two to three years, a top company official said.

"Wi-Fi is an obvious choice for BSNL going forward but it alone cannot be successful. It has to be integrated with 3G, 4G network so that customer can be seamlessly transferred to Wi-Fi. In two to three years, we will be investing Rs. 7,000 crores to set up integrated Wi-Fi across the country," Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL Anupam Shrivatava said while speaking at TeleAnalysis event here.

The company has already rolled out Wi-Fi service in Varanasi and will be extending it to more tourist spots by the end of this year.

"By end of this financial year, we will have 2,500 Wi-Fi hotpsots," Shrivatava said.

In addition to this, BSNL has also partnered with QuadGen Wireless for setting up Wi-Fi hotspots under a revenue share model.

"BSNL is in best position to provide instant bandwidth.

We will set up Wi-Fi hotspots and BSNL will provide bandwidth for it. We are committed to set up 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by June and another 5,000 by end of this year," QuadGen Wireless Founder and Chairman C S Rao said.

QuadGen will set up Wi-Fi hotspots in South and West zone under this partnership.

"Telecom operators have just committed huge amount in spectrum auction. They will need time to invest in networks.