The Pradhan Mantri Wifi Access Network Interface (PM WANI) was launched in December 2020. It received a great initial reception, but the enthusiasm died over time. Several reasons have been cited, including a lack of a vibrant ecosystem, lack of profitability, limited business models, etc. In addition, a belief also crept up over time that India did not need PM-WANI as existing telcos would step in and provide universal connectivity in the country. At the same time, several stand-alone solutions have been provided from various quarters to jumpstart the ecosystem.
iSPIRT has taken a long hard look at PM-WANI. It has identified the causes for the multiple issues plaguing the system and attempted to solve the problem holistically. This Open House Session presents our analysis of the issues in PM-WANI and a path forward. It argues for an integrative approach, considering all stakeholders’ concerns. We believe that PM-WANI can fulfil its mission of providing universal connectivity to a large unconnected part of our population.
The blog post is co-authored by iSPIRT Volunteers, Prof. Nilesh Gupta, Saurabh Chakrabarti, Bhuvan Beejawat, Prof. Himanshu Tyagi, and Sharad Sharma.
P.S: Prof. Nilesh Gupta and Prof. Himanshu Tyagi are faculty members at the Indian Institute of Management Nagpur and Indian Institute of Science, respectively, and they also represent their views as independent researchers on the topic.