Wi-Fi park opened in Kozhikode city offering free Internet

A free Wi-Fi park, claimed to be the first one in the State to offer high speed internet connectivity to 500 users at a time using 13 access points, has become a reality at Mananchira Square in Kozhikode city.

Elamaram Kareem, MP, who allotted ₹35.89 lakh under the asset development projects, opened the new service facilitated by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on Saturday. 

The free Wi-Fi service with high security features will be accessible from Mananchira and surrounding locations using one-time password (OTP). The individual usage limit has been set to 1 GB a day. Users have been asked to choose only ‘Mananchira Free Wi-Fi’ as the trustworthy signal while signing in.   

Dedicating the new service to the public, Mr. Kareem said the free internet access would help many people who depended on paid mobile internet data. “Free Wi-Fi access will also support the educational needs of many students in the urban area. We are thankful to BSNL for the speedy implementation of the project,” he said.   

Lauding the professional capabilities of the public sector undertaking, Mr. Kareem said no other operators in the telecom sector would be able to handle emergency situations effectively like BSNL. “We have to protect this establishment. There were several examples when BSNL proved its mettle in erecting mobile towers on a war footing to support emergency communications,” he said.

Deputy Mayor Musafar Ahamed, who presided over the inaugural event, said BSNL’s new initiative was laudable at a time when the city had secured the prestigious UNESCO ‘City of Literature’ tag.

BSNL officials said they were embarking on a special campaign to increase the number of internet and telephone connections in villages and remote areas to address network issues.