• Industry associations have urged the government to review Trai’s recommendation to provide internet through Wi-Fi without a licence, which they claim violates the Indian Telegraph Act and Trai Act.

• Telecom operators have opposed public Wi­-Fi  model recommended by the sector regulator TRAI, saying it will adversely impact debt ridden industry and compromise national security.
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended that a new set of players to be called Pubic Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) should be allowed to resell Internet services through yesteryear PCO type of set­up that will be called Public Data Offices.

• An industry expert say that the proposal to sell internet services without a licence, will be a complete bypass of present licensing framework, detrimental to massive investments already made in spectrum, telecom infrastructure.

• However, a report said proliferation of public Wi-­Fi can provide $3 billion potential revenue opportunity for telecom operators between 2017­-2019.

• The report also said that it will help adding new customers and increasing data consumption by existing users.

The Hindu.