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Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE Ltd, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for communications & information technology, S Ramadorai, chairman of Bombay Stock Exchange during the inauguration of Wi-Fi services in partnership with Tata Docomo at Bombay Stock Exchange — Debasish Dey

174 Wi-Fi spots, 35 rural BPOs, 4L connections in Next-Generation Network announced Union minister for communication and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday announced a slew of measures to improve digital connectivity in Maharashtra including 174 Wi-Fi spots, four lakh connections under the Next-Generation Network (NGN) and 35 rural BPOs with 3,500 seats. After reviewing the performance of state undertakings like BSNL, MTNL and India Post, the minister said BSNL would upgrade its existing four lakh connections to the NGN in Maharashtra during 2016-17.

Major cities that have been identified for the rollout of IT-enabled NGN service include Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Kalyan and Nanded in Maharashtra and Goa, which is also part of the Maharashtra Telecom circle. The NGN is a packet-based network, which provides voice, data and other media services at high speed.

Mr Prasad also said BSNL would install 174 Wi-Fi hotspots in 58 cities across Maharashtra. The state-run telecom service provider has also planned to set up a new Mobile Intelligence Network in Pune, which will facilitate pre-paid mobile service customers.

Meanwhile, MTNL, which has operations in Maharashtra and Delhi, has planned to assist the Mumbai police in its effort to install 6,000 surveillance cameras across 1,800 localities, by laying an optical fibre network. Through this, MTNL is also aiming to provide high-speed broadband to one lakh households in the city.

Underlining the need for promoting inclusive growth, Mr Prasad said the government has planned to set up BPOs in the form of Mofussil call centres across India with 48,000 seats. “Out of these, Maharashtra will have 35 call centres of 3,500 seats. BPO call centres at small places and mofussil towns will become the crux of Digital India,” he added.

The minister emphasised that the government’s digital India campaign is aimed at empowering poor and underprivileged sections. “We want a small time tea-seller, a paanwala, a carpenter to seek services via his mobile phones. That is the concept of real ‘Digital India’. We will strengthen digital India to provide quality health services, education, entertainment and promote e-commerce,” he said.