The effective deployment of public Wi-Fi in India remains a concern, with success hinging on whether it can offer a significant price advantage over mobile data tariffs to motivate users to switch, experts said, even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has flagged structural, financial and operational hurdles that have slowed the proliferation of hotspots across the country.
Public Wi-Fi or hotspots have been in question for almost two decades, largely because of the highly competitive pricing of mobile data by telecom service providers (TSPs), especially after the entry of Reliance Jio in 2016 with high-speed 4G services that dramatically lowered data costs. In its latest consultation exercise on the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks, TRAI has noted that despite policy initiatives such as PM-WANI, the density and geographic spread of hotspots remain uneven, particularly in remote and underserved regions, and has sought views on the key barriers preventing wider rollout and sustained usage.
“Market dynamics have moved very fast since the concept of public Wi-Fi was introduced. Effective deployment and monetisation still remains a concern. While mobile internet tariffs have been increasing, the success of public Wi-Fi will lies on the fact if its able to offer substantial delta in pricing motivating users to switch to it when in the zones,” Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst and Founder at Techarc, told businessline.
The regulator has also drawn attention to weak monetisation models as a central issue, questioning how public Wi-Fi providers can generate sustainable revenues while keeping services affordable. It has sought stakeholder inputs on new business and revenue models, including mechanisms that can improve financial viability for public data offices (PDOs) under the PM-WANI framework. Industry players say the lack of clear commercial incentives has made many operators hesitant to expand beyond limited urban clusters, even as infrastructure availability such as fibre backhaul improves.
Challenges
Also, its kind of contradictory that while there are campaigns being run even now suggesting users not to use public Wi-Fi for making payments, the new consultation paper talks about integrating UPI based payment methods for enhanced monetisation, he said.
The consultation exercise has further highlighted operational challenges including last-mile connectivity costs, gaps in fibre linkages to Wi-Fi access points, and the need for simplified authentication processes. TRAI has specifically asked stakeholders to examine how user onboarding, roaming, billing and authentication can be made seamless so that public Wi-Fi networks function more like conventional telecom services, reducing friction that currently discourages repeat usage.
“Public Wi-Fi as a concept is not bad at all, but can we deliver it as effectively as other public utilities like potable water and electricity needs to be figured out,” Kawoosa added.
Policy changes
Another area flagged by the regulator is the uneven expansion of PM-WANI hotspots despite initial expectations of rapid scale-up. TRAI has sought views on what policy, regulatory or infrastructure, changes are required to expand both the density and geographic reach of hotspots nationwide, particularly in rural areas where public Wi-Fi was envisioned as a low-cost alternative to fixed broadband.
According to Paritosh Prajapati, CEO, GX Group, a simplified, forward-looking regulatory framework will be critical to scaling the PM-WANI ecosystem, enabling broader participation, and ensuring affordable internet access across underserved regions.
“At GX Group, we believe policy clarity, combined with strong industry collaboration, will be the catalyst for building a scalable, secure, and sustainable public Wi-Fi ecosystem,” he said.
Security perceptions and user trust also remain an unresolved issue, with public awareness campaigns often cautioning users against conducting sensitive financial transactions over open networks. TRAI has therefore raised questions on how to improve network security standards and user confidence, even as it explores the possibility of integrating digital payment systems and other value-added services into public Wi-Fi ecosystems.
Together, industry feedback and the regulator’s observations suggest that public Wi-Fi in India faces a combination of pricing pressure from cheap mobile data, weak revenue models, operational bottlenecks and user trust deficits. Unless these structural issues are addressed alongside clearer policy direction, experts said the long-standing promise of public Wi-Fi as a widely accessible digital utility may continue to fall short of expectations.
Published on April 28, 2026