Using public WiFi? Expect ads soon

Using the state government’s high-speed public internet service? Soon, you may get advertisements from local shops and establishments pushing their wares and discount offers.

To monetise its WiFi network — which will cover 1,200 hotspots across the city by May — and allow users more free usage, the state will adopt a unique business model involving mining data about usage patterns on the system to allow brands to push advertisements to niche audiences.

Vijay Kumar Gautam, the principal secretary of the state information technology (IT) department, confirmed the move.

“This WiFi network is a great marketing device with a captive audience,” he said, adding that this meant that users logging into the network would get advertisements from local establishments. For instance, those using the network at Fort can get offers from shops in the vicinity.

On January 9, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had launched the first phase of the project, covering 510 hotpots. The IT department plans to complete the roll-out by April-end. The project — billed as one of the largest high-speed public networks in the world — was rolled out using infrastructure created for the Mumbai CCTV surveillance project, like optic fibers and poles. This is billed as one of the fastest public WiFi launches in India.

While users can access the network free of cost as of now, the state is planning a mix of free and paid models by April, wherein usage up to a certain limit (100 MB data or half an hour) will be free, after which paid plans will have to be availed of.

With locations like Chembur and Fort topping the charts in terms of logins and downloads, advertisers can also go in for area-specific advertisements based on the profile of users. For instance, FMCG and white goods majors can advertise in areas that have users with high disposable incomes. The surfing patterns of users can also be studied to push targeted advertisements to them.

“We can push localised advertisements and content based on the age profile and viewing habits of users,” said Gautam, adding that the data could also be used for door-to-door marketing even by bigger brands.

“This is also a good opportunity for local businesses to market themselves. It can be a very good tool as any advertisement on this media will be much cheaper,” he said, adding that they could also extend the free-usage limit beyond the originally conceived 100 MB or half-an-hour limit.

It will also white-list certain government-to-citizen (G2C) and even business-to-consumer (B2C) sites allowing people unlimited access on the network.

The state government will spend Rs 194 crore on the project in five years and of this, Rs 130 crore is for the bandwidth with the remaining expense to be incurred on hardware and equipment.

Gautam said the project consultants were examining the various paid models used in cities like Jaipur and Vizag, which have such public WiFi networks, albeit on a smaller scale.