Trenches to be dug for laying drinking water supply pipelines would be used to also lay optical fibre cable (OFC) and provide broadband connectivity to every household across Telangana, IT Minister K. Tarakarama Rao said on Thursday.

Launching the pilot of Hyderabad Wi-Fi Project to provide free connectivity around the Hussainsagar lake, Mr.Rao said the government having taken up an ambitious project of equipping each and every household with a drinking water tap, is using the same trench to provide broadband. “In next four years, we hope to cover one crore households to make TS the first digitally connected State,” he said.

The pilot project covering Necklace Road and Hussainsagar road in association with BSNL and Quadgen Wireless Solutions offers 30 minutes free wi fi after which it would be charged. “Very soon the entire city is to be equipped similar way to make Hyderabad the first in the country to become fully wi-fi enabled,” the Minister said.

The Wi-Fi project will use BNSL’s available optic fibre cable network running more than 4,000 km in the city. Plans are afoot to provide services at 2,000 locations and about 50 villages in the next 180 days.

IT hub

The country’s largest IT incubator T-HUB at Gachibowli in the city would be launched on June 1 and Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has been invited. “Our aim is to make the city and TS, the topmost IT destination of the country. We aspire to reach a target of Rs.1.20 lakh crore of IT exports from the current Rs. 60,000 crore in the next five years,” said Mr. Rao. Steps were underway to introduce the concept of e-Panchayat starting with Domakonda village in Nizamabad district.

First 30 minutes of wi-fi around Hussainsagar lake including Bathukamma Ghat, NTR Park, Lumbini Park, Tank Bund road and Necklace Road would be free. BSNL pre-paid packages and recharge coupons are available for Rs. 30 (30 minutes), Rs.50 (60 minutes), Rs.90 (120 minutes) and Rs.150 (one day).

Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said major tourist destinations like Taj Mahal, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Hampi and others would soon have Wi-Fi services. He joined the launch of Hyderabad project through a live video and congratulated the TS government for the pilot project and described Hyderabad as an important city and a key IT destination of the country.