Parliament Question: Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) Scheme in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2975 ANSWERED ON 05TH AUGUST, 2026 WI-FI ACCESS NETWORK INTERFACE (PM-WANI) SCHEME IN MADHYA PRADESH AND BIHAR 2975. DR. LATA WANKHEDE: SHRI ARUN BHARTI: SHRI RAJESH VERMA: SMT. SHAMBHAVI: Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state: (a) the total number of public Wi-Fi hotspots installed and operationalized under the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme during 2025-2026 in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar; (b) the details of the total Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) registered and actively providing broadband services through local retail shops in the States; (c) the average daily data consumption and the total number of rural users accessing digital services through the PM-WANI framework in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar during the last one year; (d) whether the Government has received reports of low commercial viability for Public Data Offices in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar due to high backhaul bandwidth costs; and (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to provide subsidized bandwidth to aggregators to scale up public Wi-Fi penetration in the rural blocks of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR) (a): The number of public wi-fi hotspots installed and operationalized under the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme during 2025-2026 in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are 44 and 78 respectively taking the cumulative count of hotspots in these two states to 7598 and 4086 respectively as on 30.6.2026. (b) & (c): The number of Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) registered in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are 8 and 3 respectively. Under the PM-WANI framework, PDOAs registered in one state can provide wi-fi hotspot services in other states. The total number of unique PDOAs registered under the PM-WANI scheme is 206 and as on 30.6.2026, the total number of PDOAs providing wi-fi hotspot services in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar are 34 and 40 respectively. State wise data related to average daily data consumption and the total number of rural users accessing digital services through the PM-WANI is not maintained. 1(d): One PDOA from Madhya Pradesh has reported financially difficulties due to increased cost of bandwidth. (e): With a view to increase the number of PM-WANI hotspots across the country, including in rural and remote areas, the Government has carried out the following policy interventions in the PM- WANI framework: (i) The use of regular FTTH, aggregation of multiple access points to a single backhaul and Quick Response (QR) based authentication for secondary devices have been allowed with a view to cut costs and boost the viability of Public Data Offices (PDOs). (ii) Offloading of mobile data and sending of promotional or branding content to users have been allowed, with a view to enhance viability. (iii) Home and business wi-fi have been allowed to join PM-WANI, mutual roaming between PDOs has been permitted and the naming of Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs) has been standardised to enable easier discovery. Further, to reduce cost and enhance viability, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued a tariff order on retail broadband connectivity for PDOs, mandating that Internet Service Providers offer all retail FTTH broadband plans with maximum speed up to 200 mega bits per second to PDOs at tariffs not more than twice the corresponding consumer broadband tariff. ***** 2