Bharti to roll-out WiFi hotspots in India

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Toeing the lines of Tata Communications and state-owned telecom operator BSNL, Bharti Airtel is all set get into the WiFi market by launching hotspots across the nation.

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In a report in The Economic Times, Vikas Singh, CMO for Telemedia Services at Bharti Airtel had been quoted as saying, “Airtel WiFi hotspots will be strategically located at leading premium hotels, hospitals, chains of restaurants, coffee shops and corporate buildings that are the hub of corporate, community and social activities. For us, this is an initiative to increase customer stickiness and enhance average revenue per user (ARPU) of our broadband customer base."

Airtel plans to launch more than 1000 hotspots across the nation by end of 2010, however, the service will only be accessible by current Airtel Broadband subscribers initially.

Currently, Tata Communications are the market leaders in this segment with over 500 hotspots and BSNL is also in the process of setting up WiFi hotspots across the country.